MAGE
by Phantom of the Fiction
Summary: In a pocket dimension, a Mage's life eerily mirrors another...  starts off in an AU, but will eventually turn to the Kuroshitsuji universe. Rating for gore, magic, swearing, and lots of epic fighting. Also many vampire deaths THAT DON'T SPARKLE. OC. R &R!
1. The Grim Reaper

**Hello, if you're reading this than you're viewing my best piece of fanfiction yet!**

**... at least I think it's fanfiction. This story starts, quite literally in an alternate dimension, and the Kuroshitsuji character won't be showing up for a while. I'll give you one hint though. The first one to appear... will have the letter 'e' in his/her name.**

**...**

**HAHAHA as if that's a very good hint. To find out who it is, go to chapter three. I do promise you though, this will eventually go into the Kuroshitsuji universe. This is kinda more of a prologue to a second story I'll write, maybe a third. If you look closely, or maybe not, you'll see ****resemblances between some of the characters...**

**Or, if you're really impatient, go to chapter four.**

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><p>It was the dripping that woke her up. Disturbed when a drop of water fell onto her face, the girl's eyes slit open, but then quickly went wide as she realized her surroundings.<p>

"Well shit." She groaned, as she rolled her head forward from its previously tilted back state. A single eye darted around, trying to analyze her surroundings; the other one was covered with hair. "I wasn't exactly expecting _this._"

For one thing, her head hurt like _Hell. _Judging by the trickling feeling by her right temple and her obstructed vision, when she let herself (_let _herself, mind you!) get knocked unconscious, they must have hit her quite hard on the head. She'd probably been unconscious for a while; as she moved her neck, she could feel the stickiness in her hair, and knew that a lot of it was probably stained red.

She was tied up, too, making her head one of the only things she could move. Whoever knocked her out (she had a good feeling she knew who/what it was) had also used cuffs to bind her to a wall, one made of stone slick with water. After looking around a bit, she realized her lack a vision was attributed to not only the blood clouding her good eye, but also the fact that there was little light to begin with. She was in a stone dungeon, with no sight, no key, and barely any idea of how she got there.

Face it: if she didn't figure anything out soon, she was fucked.

And then the door swung open and light flooded through her prison, framing a single elegant figure. Dressed in rich robes and swirling what looked like dark red wine in a fine crystal glass. Leaning against the frame, he (at least the girl thought it was a 'he'; his hair was rather long) had an air of being laid back and nonchalant, as if knocking out and kidnapping a person was the most normal thing to do in the world. If the girl's suspicions were right, it most likely was.

The predator purred as he sauntered towards his victim. "Ah, so you're awake. "I have to say, it's not every day we have someone like you falling into our web, trussed up for slaughter." He smirked as one of his hands wound though her bloodied locks, caressing her face. Said face didn't respond, glaring daggers at him with one brown eye. "'The Grim Reaper'… You smell delicious." He leaned in, as if to confirm his words, fangs bared in a grin. With him so much closer, she could see his features much more clearly. Dark, glossy hair fell to his shoulders. Porcelain skin, even paler than hers, glowed in the light that emanated from the lit torches behind him. And finally, shining eyes with slit pupils gazed at her, half lidded with laziness and contentedness, a striking shade of red.

_A vampire._

One of the ones she'd been sent to kill. So that was how she had ended up here.

Not liking the vampire's creepy 'I'm gonna eat you and there's nothing you can do about it' attitude, and taking advantage of his close proximity, the girl raised one of her free legs and kicked him, connecting her leg with his jaw. Hissing in retaliation, the hand in her hair suddenly gripped it tight as her head was brought hard against the wall behind her. She grunted, but still refused to speak, despite the pain that was gnawing at her head being multiplied tenfold.

"You_…!_" He suddenly snarled, raising a hand as if to slash at her face.

"Stop, Lucifer." Said a voice behind him, this time coming from another vampire with blond, swept back hair. "We have to leave her intact for the rest of us. It's time to bring her into the main room, anyways."

The one named Lucifer suddenly relaxed and replaced his anger with another grin, more sadistic than the last one. "Right. Let's take her there, shall we?"

Unlocking the manacles that held her up, Lucifer let the girl fall, having been drained of strength over that last few hours. With a snicker, he roughly grabbed her by the shoulders, making sure to dig in his claws, and started to drag her out of the room. Biting back a hiss of pain, the girl concentrated on examining her surroundings. Her thoughts ran wild as her gaze flicked back and forth.

_Since the village traveled to its current location, people have gone missing only to be found later with their bodies drained of blood and their corpses discarded in the nearby mountains. There were no signs of said victims being anywhere in the village from the time of their disappearance to the point where their dead bodies were found._

_This place _could_ be where they were taken. There are stone walls that aren't made of brick, torches for light… I could be underground, or perhaps in a network of tunnels inside the mountains. There _were _caves sighted… Tapestries and other displays of finery indicate that this must have been a hideout for a while. Vampires that steal innocents from nearby places of civilization… yes, that would fit. _

_So. These are definitely my targets._

The girl's suspicions were confirmed when she was brought to a room to see the silhouette of an oversized birdcage covered in cloth. More people, probably all vampires, lounged on seats and drank red liquid from glasses. It was like an underground auction she'd once seen in a seer's vision, only no one bothered to conceal their faces with masks. Why would they? They had no reason to hide their identity, and the only humans who'd see their faces would supposedly die soon after.

_Supposedly._

The second vampire had started addressing a large audience while Lucifer used yet more chains to hold her to a chair. As he sealed her to her fate, Lucifer whispered threats into her ear, attempting to strike fear into her heart.

His voice floated smoothly into her ear. "We're going to kill you, you know." He snarled with malicious glee. "No, we'll _slaughter _you. As soon as you're let out of this cage, every one of us is going to latch onto you and you'll feel the life slipping out you. You're going to scream and scream and it'll sound _lovely_. It won't end until your blood is gone and you stop breathing because one of us tore your lungs out, isn't that nice."

_Idiot. You haven't noticed I've already stopped breathing._

"Enjoy your last moments." The vampire finished as he put the lock on the chain and tucked the key away. He grasped the metal links and gave a harsh tug. "I know I will."

As soon as Lucifer left, the girl immediately exhaled, feeling the chains loosen ever so slightly around her. There were reasons why she'd survived this long living the kind of life she did. One of them was that her captors, when it came to leaving her incapacitated, were _really, really stupid._ They never realize that the longer the chain they use to hold her, the more slack she could get from it. They never notice when she holds her breath, so that when she exhales she's given more room to work with. And of course they never bother to check on her afterwards, leaving her _completely free to escape._

_That _is _what I've spent the last few years perfecting. _She contemplated as she slipped out of her bonds, flipping from her chair so she could jump high enough to grasp the bars of the cage. Swinging back and forth, the girl took in a deep breath and disappeared.

_Escape magic. Not _quite _as good as the real thing, but… close enough._

Outside of the cage, the blond vampire had finished up his speech. She wasn't sure what it was about; she hadn't been listening. "And finally, it is my pleasure to present to you, _The Grim Reaper._"

Lucifer whipped off the cloth covering the cage and paled slightly as others tensed visibly.

_'The Grim Reaper?' With capitals? I didn't know I was so famous. They're making a rather big deal out of this, aren't they?_

Of course, everyone else in the room wasn't staring at her. Instead, they were gawking at the empty cage.

_Then again, I suppose _they _don't know how this works._

Focusing on her right hand, the girl watched as a scythe formed in her hand. Made of pitch black metal, it blended in with the shadows she was hiding in. It didn't reflect any light; such was the nature of her job; forever hidden behind the shadows.

_There's no witty banter._

Peeking out from above, she perched from on top of the rafter, preparing to jump.

_There's no epic fighting moves and catchphrases._

The girl jumped, aiming for the dark-haired vampire that had tried tormenting her earlier.

_I just find you…_

Her scythe flashed, and Lucifer turned, discovering the threat much too late.

**_And kill you._**

**…**

_Pandemonium_was the perfect word to describe what happened next. After Lucifer's horrible death, every vampire in the room (which meant everyone but _her_) turned against the girl with the obvious conclusion that the she had to die.

One threw herself at her, claws outstretch, expecting to be able to tear her to shreds with complete ease. The creature was sadly mistaken when, in response, the scythe flashed, promptly slicing him in two. Yet another climbed up the cage the girl was now precariously balanced on top of, intending to drag the reaper down, only to have the midnight colored blade she was wielding plunge into his head. Sinking into the flesh of his face, the vampire was killed instantly. A third one managed to jump out of her from behind, lethally sharp fangs sinking into her arm, like a knife sliding into butter. Ignoring the burst of pain that blossomed from the wound, the girl grabbed the attacker by her long hair, and, with a grunt of enormous effort, sent her flying into a chandelier. As she and the crystal laden contraption fell to the ground, the figures underneath it were pierced, crushed, and splintered by the various parts of the decoration. Shrill shrieks were screamed, blood oozed from the mess, and finally nothing but silent corpses lay beneath the shattered shards of glass.

The reaper, still hanging onto the top of the birdcage, swung her scythe, beheading those who dared to get near her. Much to the surprise of the vampires, those who went down, stayed down, their dead bodies falling to the ground below.

Scoffing at the monsters below her, the girl thought to herself, _they think because of what they are, they're invincible. That they are immortal gods. What rubbish._

Vampires were nothing more than glorified humans, trading blood for food and water as sustenance, and their humanity for superior physical power. Yet with these powers come the constant craving for blood, which, when left untended, weakens vampires and leaves them crazed by their own thirst. True, they were immortal and immune to aging past a certain point, but only until one took their life with blade or fire, especially when the head was targeted. It was an act the girl often found herself indulging in.

Of course. That was her job: executing the wicked to protect the innocent.

Some of her enemies realized that this battle was impossible for them to win, and attempted to withdraw. However, with shrieks of frustration and fear, they realized that their hunted had become the hunter, as she launched herself off the cage and soon pursued _them, _swinging her weapon in wide arcs. Upwards, downwards, in wide circles. Head after head fell and body after body fell with a resounding thump.

She gave them no mercy. Why should she have? They deserved none. These vampires had terrorized neighboring towns and populations, stealing innocents in the night, torturing them by day, and, in the end, only ending their misery through a death filled with fear and the agony of feeling their lives slip away, out of their control. Thus, for their crimes, these monsters were granted similar deaths. That was how she worked. If you deserve to die, you will die. There were no acts of leniency, no exceptions.

_Never._

At last, the girl's movement slowed, and she settled down to view the carnage around her. While her clothes suffered rips and shreds, the body parts of others littered the room, dripping blood. She, too, was covered in the dark red liquid, and some of it was probably hers as well. Doors, no doubt leading in and out of the room, were spaced evenly along the walls. She would have to use one of them to find a way out. One of them was ajar, probably disturbed by the battle. There were bodies around _it_, too. Some were in pathetic crawling positions, as if trying to reach safety even when they were already dead. The gore around her, and the lack of movement from anything in the room told her that her job was done. The sharp, intense pain throbbing in her head, arm, and various other places told her she had to find a way back home, _fast. _Or at least, back to Kain, who could always be counted on to patch her up.

_My arm… I'm seriously not in good shape, I should be more careful. _She chastised herself. _Tch, and I ruined my clothing too._

_…no, focus, focus! You'll die if you don't get of here soon! It's time to leave. Now where's the bloody exit?_

Trudging towards the slightly open door, the girl staggered through, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She'd have to hurry to find a way out of here if she wanted to get out at all. Wandering the silent halls, a glimmer of silvery grayish light caught her eye. Head turning slowly, she saw a corridor that quite literally had a light at the very end.

_Yes!_

The girl began walking towards the light, intent on getting out as soon as possible. Halfway through however, a blade whizzed past her, grazing her ear.

She spun around.

_No! Damn it all!_

"Trying to escape are you?" The man in front of her stood with a face of stone, clutching several other blades between the fingers of one hand. His other had been cut off. Although clearly injured, the last vampire still had enough strength to stand, albeit in a hunched over stance. He must have slipped away earlier, hiding in the shadows until it was ideal for him to strike.

_What a cowardly way to battle. Still, I suppose it's my fault. I must have been extremely careless; this thing shouldn't even be alive. Damn, I'm too injured to deal with him now… I'll have to come back and take care of him before he raises another horde of monsters to do his bidding. _

The girl didn't smirk back, or shoot a taunting glare at her attacker, but rather set her face in a cold glare. "Try me."

Then she turned tail and ran as fast as she could.

Behind her, she could make out the sound of feet slamming against rock, and knew her opponent was pursuing her, _racing _her to the end of the tunnel. She also heard the whistling sound of several other daggers being launched at her. Listening intently to the noise, the girl attempted to gauge the position of each blade, and leaped jumped left and right accordingly to dodge them. To her surprise, even in her semi-lucid state she was able to elude each one with ease.

_"Ahahaha." _She laughed feebly to herself. The combination of her returning adrenaline, loss of blood, and the numbness now crawling from her feet up her legs was making her giddy. "Run, run, fast as you can… you can't catch me, I'm… in such deep shit now." The girl groaned as she skidded to a halt, her boots grinding against the stone below.

The academy, the streets filled with shops, the homes of the rich and poor. They were all there. It was definitely Center's End. Her current goal. Her home.

She'd just so happened to be looking at it _from the edge of a cliff._

The vampire laughed and the reaper turned back around to stare at him. They were both on their last legs, but he'd be damned if he wasn't taking that bitch with him... raising his arms one last time, he threw his last dagger, aiming straight and true for the reaper's heart.

The blade flew straight at her, but never buried itself into her flesh, and instead glanced off shining black metal. It didn't come from the reaper's scythe, since it lay uselessly in her now immobilized-by-pain arm, but from two masses of black feathers that had suddenly appeared, flapping slowing and wrapping around the girl who stared at them wildly.

_Wings. I have wings…_

_And so she did._

_…Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Not again! What the fuck's going on? This shouldn't be happening! THIS SHOULDN'T BE-_

Her thought were interrupted when with a roar, the vampire gave one last ditch effort to slay her and leaped at her, claws directed at her throat.

Automatically pulling her wings back, she thrust her scythe so the vampire's head came between her and the blade, and planted her foot against his chest, pushing hard. With one last feral scream, the monster's body was decapitated, and fell to the floor.

The girl, meanwhile, found herself tipping over the rocky edge she'd been precariously standing on earlier. Leaning back had unbalanced her and she was now falling to her doom. Her wings were heavier than she had thought, and this underestimation seemed to have sealed her fate.

_Shiiiit. Didn't I just sprout wings? Fly!_

Tumbling through the air, the girl panicked, and flapped her wings in an effort to steady her fall. By luck, she succeeded in flipping onto her stomach, her wings stretched out at the right moment to catch the air flowing beneath her. Calming the imminent threat of hyperventilation threatening to overcome her, the reaper took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling.

_Okay, focus. Leaning to the left makes you curve to the left. Leaning to the right curves right. Warm air rises. Flap when you need to. Find Kain's shop. Aim for the door. Land feet first…_

Before her concentration broke, the girl managed to land in front of the familiar wood door. Falling with a thump against it, she felt the scythe and wings melt away, and her consciousness slipping…

Just seconds later, a slender man with black, shaggy hair and dark eyes opened the door. He was still in his suit, and was about to close up shop when he had heard the thump. "Oh dear." He said, spotting the innate body at his feet. "You've gotten yourself beaten up again, Evangeline."

Picking up the body and holding her tenderly, Kain carried Evangeline inside.

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><p><strong>I'd originally planned this to be a story of my creation entirely... but when I looked at the characters and went 'wtf this is too similar to Kuroshitsuji and I've only started reading it' and Grell and the others started to pop into my head, I decided to turn it into a fanfiction story.<strong>

**Like it? This story has my longest chapters yet and I've already written five of them.**


	2. Emo is Not a Real Word

**I was originally going to wait a week before updating again, but what the Hell it's Halloween! Also I just got elastics put in my braces. (Worst. Timing. EVER.) I need something to cheer me up.**

**For future reference, the top section is where I'll reply to reviews I get on this chapter between the chapter update and the next. Only problem is, I haven't got any reviews yet. *cries* I promise you it gets good! Lots of gore and fighting a someone _will _get impaled on Grell's chainsaw. Yay chainsaws!**

**I've creeped you out now, haven't I?**

**...Happy Halloween!**

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><p>"Wakey, wakey!" A familiar voice said in her ear. "You've been sleeping for some time."<p>

Eyes fluttering open, Evangeline drifted to wakefulness to see a face beaming down on her, shaggy black hair framing his face. Bits of it fell in-between his eyes which were a dark brown. He was leaning over her, practically pinning her to the bed she had woken up on. She felt some of her arms and legs wrapped up in cloth. Bandages.

"Oh. Hello, Kain." She answered slowly. "So you found me."

"Yup. I cleaned you up too. I haven't gone round to patching you up completely, though."

"How long was I out?"

"Ah, like half an hour or so." Kain chirped. "For someone who gets injured so easily, you wake up fast."

"All the more pain to suffer for, I suppose." Evangeline muttered as she propped herself up by the arms one the bed. However, her eyes widened and she moaned as she collapsed yet again. The muted pain that pulsed throughout her body regularly sharpened with even the tiniest movement.

Seeing her in agony, Kain's expression softened to one of concern as he reached for bandages and continued to treat her wounds.

"Does it still hurt, Eve?" He asked, using her shorter nickname.

"I'm in constant pain!" The girl, whose nickname was apparently Eve, moaned. "Of course it does. You should know. You know more of my condition than I do!"

"Curse. And you're behaving incredibly morosely, if I may say." Kain corrected. "Then again, you're like that all the time."

She turned her head to glare at Kain. With the hair that usually concealed the right half of her face held back with bandages, he could see both of her eyes.

Her left eye was relatively normal. Neither a honey gold nor chocolate brown, it was a hue caught somewhere in between, perhaps leaning towards the brown. If Eve didn't spend so much time with a stoic, half-lidded look on her face, more people would see that it was quite pretty, with slight sparkles and an enchanting glow.

Her right eye… was not. Like the vampires she'd just returned from assassinating, this eye was a bright ruby red, with the slit pupil of a cat in the center. Unlike a vampire's (or cat's, for that matter,) it wasn't keen or farseeing. In fact, it was blind. Completely useless in everything to weeping blood and making others who saw it shy away in disgust and fear.

_Ever since 'that day', I've never been the same…_

That wasn't where her deformations ended; Eve was bitterly reminded of as she saw herself underneath the sheets.

Most of her hair was a glossy black, just like ravens' wings. (Just like _her _wings, the thought popping into her mind before she shoved it away.) Though the majority was long enough to cover her back, a few shorter layers framed her face, and others were swept back, as if tossed by the wind. This was for two reasons. First, it kept the streaks of red in her hair, (not stained by blood, but unnaturally growing that way) shorter and therefore less noticeable. Second, half of her face was obscured by it, covering the eye that had a tendency to scare people.

And then there was that scar. Strangely enough, Eve's skin always stayed the same; the same silky tone of alabaster, the same paleness gained from nature and kept from having little contact with the sun. Of all the injuries she received, not one of them ever left a mark on Eve. No matter how severe the wound, or how long it took to heal, they all eventually disappeared, leaving unblemished skin once more.

There was one exception.

A crescent moon enclosed in a circle shone black on the skin over her left hip. It enwrapped a cross within itself, pointing at a forty-five degree angle. It was just an outline, crossed through exactly once, with tapered ends. Thick spirals and twisting lines filled the crescent itself, like a Celtic design. The whole thing was surrounded by a crown of thorns.

Reaching tentatively, Eve brushed a finger against the scar to see if it still shot bolt of pain through her body if she did so. She winced. Of course it still did. How stupid it was to think otherwise.

Noticing this, Kain paused from his activity and put his head on her shoulder, trying to see what she was doing.

"Are you touching yourself?" He asked, feigning innocence upon asking the dirty question. Then, ever one to suddenly switch interest to things, he continued. "Hey what's up with-?"

"What? No! I mean, yes, I technically was, - but no, no, not in that way! Why does everything you say have to be so perverse!" She howled as she pulled the sheets over her head, to hide herself from view. "And where the Hell did my shirt go? I'm sick of waking up covered in nothing but bandages!"

Kain gave an 'are you kidding me' face. "They were torn to shreds, just like the rest of you."

Eve's scowl melted, and her face popped out from underneath the blanket as she deadpanned slightly. "Oh. That's right."

"Not to worry, I'll just lend you a shirt on your way out. Now, about your back…"

"Eh?"

Kain switched to medical mode. "Two identical wounds located between your shoulder blades. The mirror image of each other, they form a V shape and look too ragged to be caused by blade. However, they certainly didn't look like a vampire decided to _bite _a V shape into your skin. And this isn't the first time I've seen them on you… Have you been hiding something from me?"

Eve almost didn't answer, but she knew Kain would find out sooner or later anyways. "…wings."

An awkward silence befell them.

Kain lifted his hand to his chin pondering the thought. "… I see. It was so out of the ordinary, you were too afraid to tell me."

"Yeah."

_Damn, how does he always know?_

"I wonder, is this a good or bad sign? These wings."

"You tell me. Like I said, you know more about this condition than I do."

"And like _I_ said, it's a curse, not a condition. It was made to heavily bar your magic while slowly weakening you. It's supposed to eventually cause you to deteriorate to the point of death. A time bomb. The only thing keeping you alive is while the seal is feeding off your magic, you have so much of it. The upside is that it must be enough to fight the seal's effect. The downside is that you can't use magic anymore for that very reason."

"Tell me something I don't know." Eve mumbled. "Which, by the way, is anything but what you just said."

Kain continued. "But to use reAnimus abilities includes that… there's two possibilities. Either your magic potential has grown to the point where you can use some of it despite a large portion being leeched off, or in times of severe stress you use magic that is _supposed_ to be used to combat the curse… at the cost of its grip tightening on you."

Eve absorbed the information, but didn't answer.

"Whelp!" Kain's face of 'serious concentration' suddenly broke and he returned to his cheerful self as he finished patching his patient up. "No use worrying about that now! We'll see what happens when it does. We'll know something is wrong when you start suffering massive waves of ongoing pain even worse than the ones you have now!" Grabbing a pair of pants and a shirt, Kain flung them in Eve's face with a whack. "You know that way out. Byeee, see you tomorrow!" He waved before popping out the door out of sight. "Oh, and don't worry about payment. There's a fan girl that visits me every Saturday morning with proclamations of love. It's quite unsettling, really. You can chase her off for me tomorrow." He added as he reentered the room, before disappearing a second time.

Eve stared.

"…whut. Why the Hell do I hang out with him…" She asked herself and she lifted her palm to her forehead. Then it occurred to her. "Oh yeah, it's because he's possibly the only thing keeping me alive. Ahaha, isn't life grand?" (It wasn't.) With a sigh, Eve hoisted herself out of the bed and into the clothes. Kain was surprisingly slender, but his black dress pants and shirt were still two sizes too big for her.

_It'll have to do until tomorrow, when I can sew myself another shirt. While I'm at it, I should probably make a few extras too, because me running out has been becoming _way _too often an occurrence lately._

Traveling down the staircase and letting herself out the door, Eve walked down the familiar dirt road to her own home. Like Kain, Eve lived over a shop.

Kain ran an apothecary. Filled with medicinal herbs and materials, he sold everything anyone would need to cure illness and treat ailments. Yet no one was as good as utilizing them as Kain himself, who often used his own wares to heal others. Eve was his 'star patient' as he often called her, usually with a goofy grin or smirk. He earned enough revenue to live off the entire year with his business. This popularity was partly due to his sheer talent at doing his own job, and the fact that many females found Kain attractive, which often resulted in him accumulating fan girls. Many, many, persistent fan girls, who acted were quite similarly to rabid dogs. Aside from executing criminals, it was Eve's job to keep them at bay; a special kind of payment that Kain charged from her for his services. It was no pleasant job; sometimes Eve wished Kain would charge some astronomical amount of gold for his services instead, like everybody else.

Meanwhile, Eve lived above a shop that sold various random articles made of metal; she was an amateur blacksmith. Her specialty was producing timepieces. She didn't sell very many because A) she rarely had it open since she had two other jobs and B) people avoided her like the black plague, one of the many benefits of being a social pariah. It was rather small and run down. Eve wasn't the most financially secure person, and could only afford a tiny home that barely fit two people. The only upside was that if was next door to Kain's place. (And that wasn't because he was attractive! She got injured rather a lot, and he was one of the few people who didn't kick her out at first glance.)

Creeping through the front door, Eve closed it behind her as softly as possible. She didn't shout out "I'm home!", because it was the middle of the night and she didn't want to wake up her sister and scare her witless.

"SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!"

_Too late._

Faye came bounding the stairs, blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Her long blonde hair, usually put in a single braid going over her right shoulder, flew all over the place as she jumped down from the top of the last landing. "What took you so long?" She cried and as she ran up to her, waving her arms left and right, up and down. "You weren't home for _hours _so I was waiting for you to come home!"

"All this time?" Eve was touched, but it was probably three in the morning and way too late for a twelve-year-old to be awake. "Don't you still have classes tomorrow?"

"Only for one more day." Faye pouted. "And then it's the festival, wheeeee! You promise to come, right?"

"…riiight. But for now, let's go to bed. We must both be exhausted."

"Yeah, okay. You're alright, aren't you? I know you don't like me prying into this business too much, but you gotta tell me when you get too hurt so I can help!" Faye said sternly, a concerned expression on her face. "You have to take care of yourself!"

"I do, I do. It wasn't that bad this time, I've had worse. Much worse."

Bop!

"Ow! What was that for?"

"And I told you to stop with the emo attitude, too! You'll just end up driving yourself into depression!"

"Faye, 'emo' isn't a real word."

"Well it is now!"

"Is not."

"Is now."

Is not.

"Is now!"

"I'm choosing to end this conversation before you hit me again."

So, the two sisters climbed the stairs to the bedroom above both their beds where. Plopping onto the straw mattresses, both girls said good night to each other, and fell asleep.

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><p><strong>A bad habit of mine is to start and end chapters with my characters waking up and falling asleep. DX H-how do I not notice this for two chapters straight?<strong>

**Be sure to review. The first chapter was viewed by like thirteen people and not one of them reviewed. If that was you and you're reading this, you're a meanie. No offense.**


	3. Shopping Trip

**Another chapter! I may upload these weekly, it seems like a good pattern to follow.**

**Review reply (Only one?):**

**Faustify: Yeah, my writing style is a bit awkward to read. The problem with this story is that I imagined it as a manga, as was going to draw it as such, but then I discovered I CAN'T DRAW. DX So I wrote it as a story. Unfortunately, this results in me being way to descriptive at times to make up for the lack of visuals and for moments that were supposed to be funny to turn out just plain awkward.**

**As for Eve, I know she's a bit Mary-Sue ish right now... but I wrote her specifically aiming for her NOT to be, so hopefully it'll get better with time, not worse. (I may fail though. Sorry.) Though I highlighted her fighting skills with the first chapter, she definitely has flaws, I'll give you that. In fact, in the near future at some point she'll get her ass kicked, haha. If you want to know how Mary sue-ish _she _thinks she is, ask her.**

**Eve: "... almost everyone I know _hates _me and I'm pretty sure the few who don't will die at some point in the future. My life sucks!"**

**As illustrated in the next chapter. (Which is kinda stupid in my opinion, but my writing hasn't evolved to the point where i can make it better:/) **

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><p>The next day, after Faye had left for the academy for the day, Eve was faced with two problems. The first, which she noticed as she checked the pantry, was that she and Faye were running low on food. This wouldn't have been a problem, except… they needed food to survive. Or else they'd starve to death.<p>

_Crap._

The second issue was her clothing. Her old coat had been torn beyond repair in last's night's scuffle, as were her vest and shirt. She had no other coat, and even so, with the warmer seasons coming soon, she'd need a replacement eventually. No coat meant no survival when winter swung around again and you were sent out night after night in the middle of a blizzard trying to ward off werewolves and the like.

_Crap._

Then there was the festival. That she'd promised her sister that she'd attend. For which she and Faye would needed dresses. That she didn't have, and that Faye had recently grown out of. And the only fabric she had was a dark, dreary grey, no doubt previously a black that had faded with time.

_Crap._

This led to one solution: a shopping trip.

_… still crap. I _hate _shopping._

**…**

So, twenty minutes later, Eve found herself standing outside her home, dressed in oversized clothing (she didn't want to think of it as Kain's) and toting a large basket.

_…craaaaap. Well, first things first. I might as well get the tough part over with. _She growled to herself, pushing her way into the building next door.

"Alright, where's the fan girl?" Eve asked Kain as she entered the apothecary for the second time that day. "I haven't got all the time in the world."

Kain, quite used to being barged in on by Eve in his own home, shrugged. He was already dressed, donning a suit rather like a butler's, and a relaxed smirk that charmed and infuriated Eve at the same time. "Impatient, are we? And I thought you were trying to do away with your emotions."

"Trying, yes. And even that's impossible whenever I deal with _you. _Now where is she?"

"I don't think she's here yet. She should be coming soon. You can't miss her. Usually carrying chocolates. Brown pigtails, expensive clothing. I never bothered to memorize her name, so I just call her Miss Pigtails." He gestured and exaggerated using his arms, mimicking carrying large boxes, wearing bunny ears, and for some reason, a person hugging themself. Kain was bad at gesturing.

Eve groaned. The rich brat type. She knew it well. (Too well.) Propping herself up against the door, the room lapsed into a comfortable silence as Kain started reorganizing jars on the shelf that lined the wall, and Eve attempted to get more sleep. Damn her internal clock, waking her up at dawn everyday no matter what time she went to sleep the previous night.

_How the Hell does Kain pull it off? He probably got even less sleep than I did. One would think he didn't need any at all. It's like he's a vampire or something…_

_Yeah, no. He's nothing like one. At least, not the ones I've met._

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kain. "So…"

"What?"

"Any targets today?" Kain inquired as if asking about the weather.

"Uh- nooo… None so far. The coven I destroyed was one of the last ones, so we shouldn't be worrying about the more supernatural enemies for a couple of months. Just wild animals and the stray group of marauders from now on."

"I see." Kain paused for a moment in his jar-organizing. His back was turned, hiding his face from view. "How boring." He muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing! Eh?" Both of the people in the room had their attention caught a sudden rapping on the door.

"Kaaaaiiiin? Are you in there? Please do come out, I've got more chocolates for you! With this new recipe, I'm sure I can win you over! I'm not giving up."

Eve froze. "Is _that _what she sounds like?" Turning on the door she'd been leaning on moments later, she attempted to look through a thin slot in the door. Kain did so as well, leaning over Eve's head to peek.

"I'm afraid that's her."

"Bloody Hell, she sounds like a character out of a sappy romance story! Her voice practically grates on my ears!" Shuddering violently, Eve gripped the doorknob tightly. "Well, I'm going in, wish me luck. Er, I mean, coming out. Or is it going out- oh whatever, Kain, just shut up and stop laughing at me and let me do my job. Which by the way, I can't do unless you get off me!" She snapped at the man who was now snickering behind one of his hands, the other one draped over Eve's shoulder. Despite not liking the physical contact, Eve did her best to ignore it, being used to Kain's habits. (She was also was quite used to accidentally fumbling her words when she talked to him, but swore those things didn't mean anything significant _at all._)

The door burst open, the owner of the voice barging inside. True to Kain's description, the fan girl, who looked to be about Eve's age, had shiny brown hair done up in pigtails, and was carrying in her arms what appeared to several boxes supposedly filled with chocolates. Wrapped in satiny paper and fastened by shiny bows, they were better dressed than Eve was. The stranger herself appeared to be wearing a black blazer and skirt, with a purple bow and trimming. "Who are you talking to, my-"

_Okay, I am _NOT _liking this…_

Whoever the fan girl was froze at the sight of Eve and Kain. After jumping back to avoid the swinging door, Eve had jumped back, only to topple into Kain's body behind her. Like two dominoes, they had ended up lying on top of each other, right when the other girl walked in on them.

_NOT LIKING THIS AT ALL._

Mouth hanging open, the stranger gasped and trembled, as if her heart had been ripped in two. In a dramatic show of heartbreak, the boxes went tumbling down as the girl fell to her hands and knees, her perfectly cut bangs falling forward to cover her eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" Eve asked, slightly disgusted by the girl's unnecessary bid for pity. She quickly jumped up, dusting herself down and trying to forget the last five seconds. She also tried to give Kain a good knock on the head, which he dodged with ease, because this was his entire fault.

"Vile temptress… how dare you try to seduce my love? I won't forgive you for this!" The pigtailed girl jumped to her feet and raised her hand, as did Eve.

"Are you. Fucking. Kidding me?" Eve repeated as she anticipated the other girl's slap and caught the offending limb with ease. "Let's have a chat, shall we?" The rhetorical question was left without an answer as Eve dragged her prisoner away without waiting for one.

(Kain meanwhile, watched the scene with a slight interest, though not as much as the dropped boxes he was shying towards while this was happening.)

"How dare you!" Miss Pigtails (Eve didn't know what her name was, and she didn't care to find out, so she was just going to call the stalker by the nickname Kain had given her from now on) said over and over again. She had twisted away from Eve's grip and was now trying to confront her, though she was failing miserably. "What makes you think you have the right to do this? I can't stand that _you're _constantly with him and saying it's because your life depended on him, even though everyone knows it's a lie, and–"

"Shut up!" Looming over Miss Pigtails, Eve fixed a menacing glare on her. "It does, you idiot! Why the Hell does no one believe what happened to me? _You _complain of heartbreak when mine's literally _breaking _into pieces as we speak, and the only damn person capable of keeping me alive puts me up to dealing with brats like you! Argh!" She yelled in frustration, pulling out her hair.

She quickly reverted back to seriousness, however. "Whatever. Now's not the time to complain. Listen up!"

The black and red-streaked haired girl didn't want to slap the brunette, since that was the kind of thing only the other girl would do, but she wasn't fond of punching her either; this usually led to a full out brawl, which Eve wasn't aiming for. So, she instead gave her a whack on the head, causing Miss Pigtails to lose her balance and fall to the ground below.

With each step Eve took towards the second girl, Miss Pigtails, whom had been knocked down, crawled another space back, eyes wide with the fear of being hit.

"This is a warning. These feelings you have for Kain aren't worth it. He's not as great as you think. Get caught in his web, and you'll be used the same way I am, hanging off puppet strings that he controls. You'll be without will." Eve's eyes darkened. "Forever regretting the choice of inflicting your stupid crush on him. You'll end up like _me._"

This last threat pushed the pigtailed brunette off the edge, and with one final whimper, she was sent running, like a dog with its tail between its legs.

"Weren't you a bit harsh with her?" Eve turned her head to see Kain, who had opened the door when she wasn't looking.

"I didn't yell _that _much. Besides, I must be cruel to be kind." She said with a nonchalant shrug. "Any more leniency, and she'll be back for sure. Besides," Eve continued, stretching her arms to rest behind her head. "It's not like I spent _too_ much time outlining your shortcomings."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, aside from chasing off fan girls who are too stupid to know what a good catch you _aren't_, I also have to be your personal tailor. Shirts, pants, everything: I even have to make your damn _capes. _Do you even need to wear capes for any reason? You can sew my innards together after I almost get disemboweled, but you don't know how to fix a tear in your hat? It's unbelievable!"

Kain's closed-eye smile twitched slightly as an imaginary arrow with "can't sew clothes" written on it speared him in the head. _Twang._

"You constantly lose your stuff."

_Twang._

"You're a pervert."

_Twang._

"You have no tact."

_Twang._

"And you're _hopeless _at keeping your lunatic horde of squealing stalkers at bay!"

_Twang._

"Ehehe…"

As she leaned down to retrieve her basket, the sight of a box behind Kain's back caught her eye. "Are you _eating_ the chocolates that idiot from just now gave you? This is exactly what I'm talking about! Sometimes I think you purposely attract them just to make my life difficult." Standing back up, she sighed. "I don't have time to keep insulting you, I have shopping to do. Goodbye, Kain."

**…**

And so she went.

Down the street of shops.

Where _everybody stared at her._

_This is why I _hate_ shopping. _Eve groaned to herself as she purchased various goods from various stores, avoiding eye contact because she was only met by glares and sneers when she didn't. When she dropped array of coins into the hand of one vendor in particular, she gave a 'hmph' sound with a haughty flip of her curly hair, and gestured that she wanted more payment.

_Not only am I _banished _from most places on sight, the few places that don't kick me out all charge ridiculously high for their wares. Who pays a whole gold piece for a loaf of bread? Oh yeah, me. Stupid Social Pariah Tax… _

While purchasing fabrics, Eve eyed the purple fabric longingly, but regrettably had to choose black and white fabric only. Thanks to the farmers that grew flax and raised sheep, white linen and black wool was readily available no matter what fabrics shop you looked. It was convenient for Mage uniforms too; white linen kept you cool in the warmer seasons, and black wool warmed you during the more bitterly cold ones. (Though it was sort of itchy…) Fabrics with any color, however, were a completely different story. Eve couldn't afford to buy any. It looked like She and Faye would be clothed in monochrome for the festival. A pity purple was so damn expensive. It was her favorite color.

As she left, Eve spotted a new shade, at the very edge of the counter. A vibrant red she'd hadn't seen before. It was shocking inexpensive. Deciding to give it a try, she added it to her stack of bolts of fabric, before paying for the while lot.

"Exactly what do they use to dye these fabrics red?" She mused to herself. "I know purple is expensive because the natural dye is derived from rare sea creatures, yet this color isn't much more costly than un-dyed fabrics."

A small child, old enough to know the answer but young enough to not see the harm in answering, piped up, "Worm guts!" before being shushed by another background voice, possibly her mother.

Eve froze, deadpanned, and went "Erk-!" all at the same time, nearly dropping the bolt of fabric in the process. Despite this, she caught it before it hit the ground. "Whut." She questioned herself as she stared at the red in her hands with a grossed out face. "Oh well, no use taking it back now; I've already paid for it. I doubt they'd let me return it anyways." So she put into the bag with the rest of her goods.

"Ah." Her bag was becoming heavier, so Eve sat down a bit and took a break, and started to nurse a flask of water. It was a pain to lug the thing around all day, but was the price demanded for not going out more often.

Viewing the position of the sun in the sky, Eve thought to herself, _Faye must be finishing up the last of her classes right about now. I hope she's having a better time than I am…_

_…_

_Pfft, of course she must be. Everyone here in this village is happier than I am._

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><p><strong>Isn't she a ray of sunshine? If I didn't create her, I'm not sure how much I'd like her in real life.<strong>

**(Now review and criticize me how this writing was done by a fourteen-year-old fangirl! Cuz it actually is.)**

**I have like four more chapters completely written before I have to write more. The next chapter, proof that this is in fact a fanfiction story!**


	4. Guardianship

**Another chapter, woot! I'm kinda surprised no one's flamed me yet, this fanfic sorta sucks. DX I don't expect it to be too good; it's like a prologue for a second story I promise will be much better, so stuck around! Also, Undertaker finally shows up, so yaaaaay!**

**Suzaku Darknight: (o.o)Er, the weapon Eve is described using is a scythe. Since I probably won't get this background info in the story I'll tell you a bit right now. Mages are magical beings. Like magicians, only awesomer and not fake. Each Mage has their own tool, called an Ace, in which they channel their magic. Could be a wand, a staff, etc. The shape can change with a sudden shift in its user's character or can be modified with the user's own in particular fights with a scythe. She doesn't like the fact that she goes around killing monsters with an _agricultural harvesting tool, _but she can't change it either because she doesn't have magic anymore. Really sucks for her.**

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><p>Faye, meanwhile, had skipped home with lifted spirits. The seasons were changing, and her study term was ending for six whole months! She'd have more time to spend with her sister, and make friends, and all sorts of fun stuff. Most importantly, having turned twelve the previous month, she was finally legible to take small jobs as a junior mage. She worked hard and her grades were excellent: it should be no problem to get a few jobs a day caring for plants, or maybe taking part in the play that had a habit of being put together and shown in the middle of the summer. The best part was, Faye knew for sure, that she'd be able to start helping her family, that is, her and her sister, financially. It didn't matter how much Eve tried to hide it; Faye knew that living was tough for them. If she could do anything to ease her sister's burden, she'd be more than happy to help.<p>

BEST.

SCHOOL DAY.

EVER.

"I'm home!" She declared as she burst inside, twirling and leaping like a ballerina, only to be greeted by a dark, gloomy room occupied by nothing but golden trinkets, wicked blades, and other things that fell in-between. Illuminated by the sunlight shining through the window, the shop portion of the building held no one inside. "Aw… where'd you go? I worked all break-time on that entrance." Banging her head against the nearby counter in disappointment, a creamy white sheet of paper caught her eye. "Eh? What's this?" The sheet, covered in her sister's handwriting, read:

_ Faye,_

_Went to buy more food and cloth. I didn't wait for you to come home because I was planning to get back and make dinner for you as a surprise. If you got back before me and got this note… well, surprise!_

Faye blinked.

"Well that answers my question!" Faye piped up, throwing the paper behind her shoulder and she jumped up the stairs. Her hair flounced all over the place as she jittered with excitement. "But if she was planning to make such a nice surprise for me, it's only fair that I plan one for her. What to do, though?" She contemplated her options. What to do, what to do… there was no garden to tend to, at least, not anymore.

"I suppose my only option is cleaning." She said to herself, throwing open the door to the bedroom that she and her sister shared. There wasn't much inside; just two beds, a small desk, and a candle that rested upon it. It was probably the easiest room to start with.

Yet, as she took a step, she heard the sound of another being taken behind her. With a gasp, she opened her mouth, only for it to be clamped over by a hand with a tribal sun tattoo.

**...**

Meanwhile, Faye took a sip of a flask of water with incredibly inconvenient timing as her 'Faye is about to get kidnapped again' alarm rang. Pausing in mid-choke, she swallowed, then shook her head and lifted the flask back to her lips. "Meh. Good luck… you idiot."

**…**

"Let! Me! Go!" Faye wrenched the hand off and started screaming. Her kidnapper stopped her wild flailing but slamming her against the room. She returned the favor by using the momentum to send the stranger into the opposite wall. Despite her efforts, the attack fazed him, but didn't hurt him.

"Shut up!" He glared, yanking her waist-long braid and earning a little whimper. This wasn't a man Faye knew; his rugged features and close cut brown hair were unfamiliar to her. He did, however, have a tattoo signifying he was part of some kind of gang. Center's End _did _have a few skulking around in secret organizations, but most criminals came from surrounding areas, since the village was nomadic. (It didn't make sense to run a black market underground when the ground underneath them changed completely every two years.) Since the tattoo didn't ring a bell either, the man was probably the latter. "This is what's we're going to do. You're going to shut the fuck up and come with me. We'll be sending a ransom note to your mummy and daddy and then maybe, if they cough up and you're a good girl, we'll let you go. Don't call for help, because if anyone comes, especially your freak of a sister, I kill them!"

Crossing her arms stubbornly, Faye turned her nose up as is refusing to eat her vegetables. "No. Now go away and leave me alone!"

"Oh?" A devilish smirk formed on the man's face and he grabbed Faye by the throat. "And if I don't?"

"I'll scream."

"Go ahead. There's no one else to hear you."

Taking the man by surprise, Faye grabbed him by the head and said, "Good!"

And so she screamed.

Really loud.

_Right into his ear._

And finally, five whole minutes later, Faye ceased her screeching. The stranger, having passed out, fell to the ground.

**…**

"In here." Leading the way, Faye pointed to the offender, whose hands and feet had been bound with rope. Setting her basket, now filled with goods to the brim, on the ground, Eve surveyed the intruder.

"I see."

The intruder scowled at the two, furious at himself for being caught, by a _child _no less. Turning to the younger sister, he opened his mouth to abruptly let loose a string of curses. Eve's eyes widened, and, sensing the profanity to come, quickly clasped her hands over her younger sister's ears. Despite the prominent vein in his neck and the impressive speed his jaws moved at, all Faye could make out was:

"You ******* *****! When I ******* get my hands on you, I gonna ******* **** the **** out of you! And your ******* **** sister! Your ***** are gonna be ****** by every ******* ***** I know! ******* ****! You'll be ******* ****** and then you'll have to **** sideways! *****!"

And so on.

And on and on and on…

"Are you done yet?" Eve said, seemingly disgusted by his words. Not waiting for an answer, she turned to her sister. "Faye, wait outside and keep plugging your ears." Nodding solemnly, Faye obeyed. When she had left, Eve redirected her attention towards the man tied up at her feet. "Right." She continued, summoning her scythe. Black as midnight it materialized, gleaming wickedly. "Let's get started."

The arrogant, indignant look on the stranger's face melted as he saw the scythe, felt what was going to happen. "Wait! You can't do this! You don't know the charges-"

"Your words don't matter; there's no use trying to get out of this." Eve interrupted him and planted her foot on his chest to shut up. Leaning her knee, their eye contact caused the man to tremble violently. If he kept if up, he may have been able loosen the ropes binding him. Unfortunately for him, he was too scared by the glare being shot at him by the girl in front of him. "Do you really think you're the first one to try this? I know Faye looks like an easy target; the daughter of a rich noble, living with no protection than a disowned sister estranged from lower and higher society alike? It's almost too good to be true. And it is. Faye is more than capable enough of protecting herself." Her eyes shifted to the wall she knew Faye must had been sitting behind, covering her ears like asked. "It's the only reason I allow her to stay with me."

"Despite scum like you, that keep trying and failing to hurt her." she repeated, raising her scythe over her head. "That deserves only death. That is the mistake so many of you made, and every one of you paid for it. You are no exception."

"No! Wait, n-"

The target never finished his words. He was sliced through from the top of his head to the bottom of his neck.

Faye regarded the corpse with a dead expression. Then she sent away her scythe in a black mist, and grabbed the dead body by the feet, dragging it out of her and her sister's bedroom.

_The mess, I can clean up later. First, I need to get rid of the body._

"It's done." Eve grunted as she continued pulling the copse down the hall. "I just need to get this down to… _him._"

Faye glanced at the body, not the least bit fazed by the gory sight. "Okay. Do you want me to help?"

**…**

"Faye, are you sure about this? People are starting to stare. And gawk. And throw up."

Even Eve had to admit, of all the things she'd done, dragging the dead body of a young man with her sister wasn't the best thing for Faye's reputation. It was already tarnished enough from simply being near Eve, and in spite of her allowance of Faye living with her, Eve didn't want her to become like her. Unwanted… Unclean…

"I told you, it's okay!" Faye said, giving her sister yet another bop on the head. "I don't care what others think of me. It doesn't matter. The only thing that does," she exclaimed with one of her sweetest smiles. "Is that I'm with you!"

Once again reminded of her sister's almost unimaginable innocence and purity, Eve, for the thousandth time in her life, felt gratitude for her sister fill her as she gave a rare smile back. "Yeah."

And then she realized something. "Er, we should get back to carrying the body… it's just laying there right now…"

"Right, right." Faye scrambled to grab the feet of the corpse once more.

The siblings resumed carrying it until they came to a certain shop labeled "Undertaker". Was a peculiar door, thin, cramped, and set in-between two other buildings. Shouldering her way inside, she and Faye climbed up the rickety steps, body in tow.

"Ow!" Once again, lack of light (and eyesight) caused Eve to bump her head on the trapdoor above. Scowling, she pushed open the coffin shaped door to the cool air above, stagnant and dead. "Undertaker, are you in there?" Spying the silver-haired man giggling while perched atop his desk. "How stupid of me; of course you're in here. You never leave this place."

"How nice to see you again, my lady~" Undertaker giggled into his sleeve as Eve threw the body out from below her and set it down on the musty ground with a thump. "Would you like a coffin fitting-"

"Why do you ask that blasted question every time I come here, of course I don't need one!" Eve snapped, still in a bad mood from bumping her head."I told you before; I have no intention of dying anytime soon. I have another… _guest,_ for you." She indicated the body with a kick. Faye climb out from the coffin they'd emerged from as she did so, flopping over the side as she did so.

"Ewwww, it's so dusty down there…"

Undertaker burst into another series of titters as he nodded in greeting to Faye, or "My dear" as he often called her. Then he turned his attention back to Eve.

"Of course, of course. How fun, another guest! But first, you know what I want!"

"Another skeleton?"

"To see me lying dead in a coffin in front of you."

"A puppy! It's a puppy, isn't it?"

"None of the above!"

Undertaker cackled, jumped down from the desk, and seemed to dance around, giggling hysterically and maybe a little evilly at some unspoken joke. "Just the pleasure of a first rate laugh! The joy I've been craving of hearing a truly good joke! Just one, and I'll do anything!" He was leaning dangerously close over Eve, who deadpanned and instinctively stepped back. "Aaaannythiinng!"

"Do 'anything' like _that _again and I'll lock you up in one of your own coffins."

_A first rate laugh. It's _always _a first rate laugh. What is it with me and having to give near impossible payments?_

Faye, meanwhile, heard the word 'joke' and perked up immediately. "Ohh, a joke! I made up a new one in class earlier today that I really want to try out!" Pushing Eve towards the coffin/trapdoor, she put her finger to her lips. "But you wait outside, kay? Don't peek inside no matter what!"

Eve's eyes widened. "It's a dirty joke, isn't it? What have you-"

"Kthx!" Faye exclaimed, and closed the door on Eve's head.

"Ow…" Falling on her butt, Eve groaned and rubbed her temple.

_Why always the head… _she thought to herself, pouting as ear-splitting laughter erupted above her a few moments later.

Not soon after, the door above her head opened again, and Faye leaned in, her braid slipping to fall inside the 'coffin' a bit. "You can come out now!" She exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

Peeking over the edge, Eve made sure Undertaker was lying on the ground incapacitated by laughter, like he should have been, before crawling into the open for a second time.

No matter how alert of her surroundings she tried to be, Undertaker was always the only capable of constantly sneaking up on her. She'd once caught him putting a braid in a streak of her red hair, and to this day, much to her chagrin, it magically stayed tangled in.

_How the Hell does he do that?_

"So you'll do it?"

"Of course, my lady! Far be it from me to refuse business from someone who gives such high quality payment! You want the usual, yes?"

"The usual, then, my lady?"

"Yes, the usual. Just bury him in the ground where we don't have to look at him." Eve reminded him, though he didn't really need it. Eve had been using Undertaker's service for almost two years, he wouldn't be forgetting now.

"But also, I want you to keep note of this making here." Eve gestured to the triangles and spiral creating a sun on the corpse's right hand. "If any customers come in bearing this mark, it may mean they're involved in illegal dealings. I'd have to report it right away to superior Mages."

"Heh, it's always justice and following orders with you." Undertaker was stepping dangerously close towards Eve again. "Always hunting. Always collared. You rather remind me of one of my other customers." He somehow managed to get behind her as she turned away, whispering into her right ear. "Who will choke first, I wonder?"

Acting on instinct, she jumped forward and executed a backwards kick, sending Undertaker into a coffin. Spinning around, she whipped out her foot again to close the door on him, who, infuriatingly, was still laughing, as if he'd planned this to happen.

Eve shivered.

_Again. How. THE HELL. Does he do that?_

"Uh, that was sorta weird. Is he gonna be okay?" Faye asked, having seen the whole thing. She tried to peek into the now closed casket, but her hand was stopped by her sister's.

"You and I both know full well he can open the coffin at any time." Eve sniffed. "But he deserves that kick for sneaking up on me. Again. Come on, let's go."

With that, a disheveled Eve and a curious Faye left the building though the weird trapdoor. They didn't stay long enough to hear the knock on the door: Undertaker's next customers/victims.

"Do you really dislike him that much?" Faye asked her sister as they walked down the dirt street home. Her hands were entwined with her sisters.

Eve contemplated the thought. "No." She finally said. "He's one of the few people who actually gives me respect, so it's only fair that I return it. He's a little odd, maybe, but again, I'm not in a position to discriminate against him for that either… What I have to wonder," Eve shivered upon saying this, "Is why he's so intentionally _creepy. _And mysterious."

"Mysterious?"

"Look at how much he hides himself. He never leaves his shop, he wears ridiculously baggy clothing, and even most of his face is covered up. I don't even know how _old _he is. Judging by the bottom half of his face, I'd say around Kain's age."

"Well, how old is Kain?"

"… yeah, I don't know that, either."

"Wooooooooow."

"Okay, change of subject." Eve said abruptly, to, of course, change the subject. "How about when we get back, we make dinner together, to celebrate the festival coming soon? It's been a while since we've done anything like that…"

"Sounds good." Fay hugged Eve. Eve gave an awkward squeeze back.

* * *

><p><strong>Aside from her knack for committing mass murder, one of the few things Eve prides herself on is being a good older sister. Awwwww- wait, what? <strong>


	5. Underlying Motives

**Chapter five, yay! five more from hitting double digits. I was going to update later today, but what the Hell, I don't have school today, so why not celebrate? So this chapter's early by like twelve hours, haha.**

**Quite honestly I don't like this one too much; it's a somewhat stupid way of me introducing an new arc. Yes, this story has arcs. I guarantee you at least one person will die or be severely injured in each one, and it will be awesome.**

**BWAHAHA I'M SUCH AN EVIL CHILD.**

**(P.S. Not only can you review and ask question about this story, since I doubt I'll be able to fit all the details in the actual chapters, you can ask the characters questions as well! You'll be told as much as you can without it being to spoiler-ish.)**

**Reaper-of-Lost-Souls: Glad to hear you like my story! About your question, I've been deliberately avoiding revealing that so that you can find out in ehhh, about two chapters. I will tell you this, though. One, being a fantasy pocket dimension with harsh climates and savage animals and such, those living in the current setting don't have it in their best interests to actually keep time. They just go by natural landmarks, like the seasons or the placement of the sun in the sky. And two, this story does coincide with the real world and is _occurring simultaneously with the Kuroshitsuji plot. _What part of the plot, you may say?**

**Well, you'll find out soon. ;)**

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><p>The festivals started the morning after. Rather, the preparations did; the celebration itself would commence near sunset. In the hours before, every single person in the village was getting ready.<p>

_Almost everyone. _Eve thought as a sudden image of Undertaker still locked in the coffin flashed through his head.

She'd already tailored for herself a new shirt and vest, and was putting the finishing touches on her coat, a dark gray pea coat with black edging. Eve examined the stitching in a section of wool. She'd only done embroidery until a while ago, and creating new articles of clothing from scratch was still somewhat new to her. There was a definite improvement from her first try though.

"How do I look?" Faye jumped into view and twirled like a well-trained ballerina. Like most female white mages her age, Faye usually wore a simple white dress, one that flared out a bit at the bottom and was tied with a black sash, accompanied by an equally dark 'cape' that reached halfway between her shoulder and waist, and had a hood attached for when it was sunny.

While she was still wearing her black socks and white shoes, her dress was now gathered and ruffled at the end, with red lining peaking out. A red sash fastened the dress just above her waist, and a matching bow was tied at the back of her neck.

Eve surveyed her creation for mistakes. "There's a crooked ruffle on your right." She declared. "I'll fix it."

As her sister sat down and started to correctly align the bunched up fabric, Faye stuck her tongue out. "You're such a perfectionist." She pointed out.

"I have to be. If I was going to succeed at an academy of magic with _no magic,_ what else could I do but become the perfect student? Immaculate grades were the only way to avoid being kicked out. Ha! Thank goodness that period of my life is over. And I'm not _that _much of a perfectionist. Only at things that need to be perfect. And that includes my sister's outfits."

"Oh. Well, anything else?"

"…Not really." Finishing up, Eve leaned back and sighed."Okay, we've got your dress done. What do you think we should do with mine? You're way better at embellishments than I am."

**…**

A red number wrapped around her neck and fell down in neat ruffles.

Midnight fabric draped on top of it, starting with a corset style fastening and ending with angled folds.

More folds lay in the back, like resting butterfly wings.

"It's so. PRETTY." Faye squealed. "Aw, sis, you look so nice in that dress!"

"Uh, thanks?" Eve said, a little nervous about being in such a short dress (it barely reached her knees). She would have made it longer, but she ran out of red fabric… sigh. "At least we're finally finished. Now all that's left is to wait for the sun to set."

Every six months, as spring and summer melted into winter and fall, the charge of protecting the village against various enemies and dangers shifted from the white Mages to the black. With spring soon approaching, the white Mages were to soon take this duty. This meant they were also hosting the various celebrations surrounding the change. Most likely, out of habit, one of the noble families volunteered one of their manors for a ball, where everyone would attend and the rest would be announced from there. As the night darkened with the absence of its light, the chosen place would emit a light of its own, signifying the start of a week long period of parties, balls, and other absolutely riveting events Eve had no intention of going to. But, she'd given her word that she's participate in the first day. She was sure she'd sorely regret it, but if it made Faye happy…

_I suppose it couldn't be that bad. Just as long as the starting point isn't… aw, shit._

The lighting was starting. As the last fragment of sun passed over the horizon, another glow sparked to life in a window. Magic, alive and thriving like a vine, it twined in and out of brick and set rows of stained windows to give off radiance as if daytime had never ended. Twins gate doors in the front of the stately house flew open, and no sooner than it did, people rich and poor alike flooded through as if there was a fire to be put out, dressed in their finest and excited for a night of dancing, eating, and letting go of one's worries.

The abrupt show of luminosity wasn't what irked her. It was the traditional way white Mages revealed to the public the location of the ball, dramatics they were. It was the place itself that did. She didn't like it one bit.

_Of all of the noble families, why_ that _one?_

Britford manor. Grabbing her red and black hair, Eve was tempted to take her head and put it through the nearest wall. It wouldn't have been very difficult; they were all thin and constructed of light wood.

Her sister noticed her discomfort, and tugged at one of the black ends of her dress. "Um, sis? I sort of changed my mind… you don't have to go if you don't want to…"

_Look at me. I've become pathetic, getting scared of a _house. _Or rather, the people in it. But that doesn't matter! _Eve started to shake her head at herself, while Faye stared a bit. _I promised Faye this, and I'm not about to break my word. Besides, _Eve ended her silent panic and straightened herself up. _It can't be that bad…_

"I'm fine. Let's go." Eve said to a now slightly confused Faye, grabbing her hand and leading the way.

**…**

They were outside.

"Ladies and gentleman, it is my honor to be delivering the traditional speech for this year's transition ceremony." The head of the Britford household announced. Alexander was a man who, despite his age, which must have been in his late thirties, was fit, athletic, and generally in good shape. Brown, well-kept hair framed a face with a triangular jaw. He was clothed in a fine suit of muted red with gold trimmings around the cuff and neck. At his side was his wife, Victoria. She, too, was vibrant, in the way all mages generally were. She had a yellow dress on, with traces of grey and a gold sash. Victoria held on to her husband's arm, beaming at the crowd. Her grin only faltered, ever so slightly, as her eyes fell upon Eve's, who was directing a hateful look towards the couple. Alexander, completely ignorant of the wordless exchange that had just happened, continued.

"Years ago, our ancestors were the scum of the Earth. As the criminals of the most heinous nature, they were sealed away by the gods, locked in a separate dimension from the rest of mankind. It was a beastly world, where animal and man were the same and would tear each other apart without a second thought. A Hell. The gods put the prisoners into this hole and told them only the shrewd and powerful would survive. They told them how to escape and that should they succeed and survive in the real world, they were free, then left them to their own devices. While some banded together to eventually form whole communities, others traveled their separate ways, determined to break loose of their prison with their own strength.

Generations later, whether it is owed to the nature of this place we are trapped in or of humanity itself, magic sparked in a man and he became the first mage, able to bend things to his will. Others followed, and, our village at least, fell into a system. Every six months, as the seasons replaced each other and took the duty of defending Center's End.

And every two years, we migrate east, for that is how the gods told our ancestors to leave this place. To either stumble upon a portal on your own or find the tree in the center of our world, where the toil of surviving everyday life will finally come to an end. We know this is true because the tale has been passed down each year, on this anniversary. And so it will continue to be passed down, until we are pulled into the next world. "

Applause roared, as every citizen cheered and roared clapped, save for two figures standing alone in the crowd. Two sisters, one older than the other, both clutching each other's hand fiercely.

**…**

As the ovation faded away, the crowd dispersed to enjoy the rest of the festivals. Though there was dancing and food inside the manor ballroom, most of the excitement resided outside. It was like a carnival, a child's biggest dream. They took their own little place somewhere in the open garden filled with flowers, or in the pathways lined with marble stone, or by the gates, spilling out into the rest of the village. They tinkled and laughed as they twirled across a raised beam like fairies. They produced the sweet music of a summer night with a violin, or made doves appear out of thin air.

The white Mage performers.

Faye giggled as she witnessed a random magician make gold feathers fall out of his armpits. Eve's attention was captured elsewhere, by a seer, covered in crisp white robes, stooping low over her makeshift fire.

A popular form of entertainment among villagers was for a seer to create a vision out of burned incense and magic. To see a glimpse of what everyone knew had to be the real world; not this pocket dimension they were trapped in. To view what awaited them if they got out, if they ever managed to escape…

This particular seer was perched on the stairwell leading inside, directing red smoke with her hands, and molding it into an oval shaped mirror. Spectators went "ooh" and "ah" as the mist cleared and inside, and, just like the Center's End tried to model itself after, quaint buildings came into view. Horses and people walked to and fro. Children ran through stone lined streets and laughed with their parents and begged them to buy the newest toy in the stores. One child in particular stood out: a young boy around Fay's age, dressed in finery from his eye patch to his cane. A black butler followed him like a shadow.

Eve wondered briefly why his eye was covered, but let the thought go as, much on the disappointment to the onlookers, the smoke disappeared and the vision was lost. It was expected. To see something as far away as another world entirely was extremely difficult. Visions could only be held for a short period of time before vanishing.

_What we see is so close to what we're living now… minus the constant werewolf attacks, brutal weather, and shortages of food, of course. If all the visions created by the seers weren't so consistent, you could say they were faking it._

"Look, sis, the dancing has started!" Faye interrupted Eve's thought as she grabbed her arm and pointed while jumping up and down. "Can we go in for a few minutes, please? I promise, we can go right after they announce the secret celebration for tomorrow."

Eve looked ready to explode, shuddering at the thought of having to go in with all those other people. But then Faye's eyes welled up and she clasped her hands and gave her the puppy-dog face, so she calmed herself down and just said, "Oh, alright."

"Yay!" Faye took hold of her sister and promptly dragged her inside.

The ballroom, which the siblings found by climbing up the main staircase, turning right, and going straight forward, displayed the usual indications of finery. Banners in pure white and gold hung off the walls. The rich folk, with their splendid clothes of silk and jewels and finery talked and danced and mingled and sampled the food in their elegant manner. The poorer ones did so as well, but chattered with excitement and shivered in delight in their simple gowns and suits. It wasn't every day that they were allowed to literally waltz into the place like this. It was one day of the year when the prince and the pauper were equal, and they were determined to make the absolute most of it.

The reaper did not care. She'd seen the miracle that was a perfectly held ball countless times before, and could worry less about socializing with others or even enjoying her usually tense self.

But still, she smiled and accepted the food that Faye handed to her.

Applauded as she watched her sister throw into the air and swallow a meringue treat whole in a flourish.

Nodded to the pretty dresses the blonde pointed out, donned by the ladies that had not yet detected and moved to shy away from their presence. Faye skipped off somewhere to sightsee more. Her sister didn't move to stop her. Rather, she gave a wave, letting her hand fall as Faye shifted out of sight.

_I don't like to these emotions. They're weak. They're predictable. They cloud my head and could keep me from my goal. But I live for my sister too. So for now, for her, I'll keep pretending._

_Until she's ready for when I inevitably leave her._

**…**

"Eve! Fancy meeting you here!" A voice shook her out of her solemn oath. It was Kain, who, forever dressed in a crisp black suit, was looking dapper as always.

_…I did not just think that. I did NOT just think that._

"I know that look. Having another one of your emo episodes in your head?"

"That is not a word." She said, cold and clipped. He was completely right; which was why she didn't want to deal with him at the moment.

"It is according to your sister."

"Faye is hardly the person you should be confirming the existence of words from."

Kain laughed and Eve could tell he was trying to soften the conversation. "Anyways, what are you doing here standing and sulking? People are here to have fun! Why not dance? You used to do that as a kid, right?"

The sullen girl beside him sighed. "You know full well no one will insane enough to dance with _me. _Well, except maybe you, and that's beside the point. And what about you? Don't you have hordes of ladies to get off your back?"

"Yes, in fact. So why don't we dance? Surely that will solve both of our problems." The infuriating man didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed Eve by the waist and twirled her around, leading her to get lost in the mass of people dancing about.

"Hey, what the-" Eve blustered and tried to break away, but Kain was holding her with an iron grip. That, as the swarm of others surrounding her made escape rather difficult. "What makes you think you can grab me and start dancing? Let me go! Faye! Help me!" She started to wail.

_Wait… oh yeah, she went to go look at all the pretty dresses._

They twirled. They stepped in time to the music. They waltzed. They spun. They were in the center of the crowd now. Eve started to notice that as the other dancers realized who she and Kain were, they gave them a wide berth.

"Why are you here, anyways?" Kain said innocently. "Last time I checked, you were aloof, awkward when it came to social positions."

A vein in Eve's head pulsed.

"And unless something happened since then, you still are."

"My sister asked me to." She answered begrudgingly. "Tradition. My sister asked me to."

"You said that twice."

"She asked me twice. Just until they announce whatever wonder thing they'll be hosting this year for the festival. Most likely it'll be another play or something; goodness knows we don't have enough of those things. Not like any of us could starve to death the next day. "

Kain laughed through his nose. "You can't say no to her, can you?"

"Shut up and dance."

Kain smirked, sarcastic. "Yes, my lady."

"Don't call me that."

"Yes, _my lady._"

"Gaaaahh."

Then they were interrupted by another man who wanted to dance with Eve.

"Mind if I cut in?" Jake Hunter asked. Something close to heartache flashed through Eve's chest for a second, just a second. She hid it with dirty look shot at the newcomer.

He looked exactly the same as the last time she had seen her. The same curly hair the color of sand framed his face, a bit longer than before. The same jade eyes stared with fake politeness at the man whom he was interrupting. A white suit.

Eve tensed.

Kain grinned. "Not at all!" He said as moved out of the way of new player in the game. Though most couldn't see it, Eve knew Kain long enough that it was the face he used when acting suave while hiding another emotion. She just wasn't sure what it was for, or why.

_The lesser of two evils gone…_

"So, Evangeline. It's nice to see you again." Jake said as they positioned their hands and danced a waltz that had started playing.

"Hello."

She wanted him to go away.

"But I've heard you go by Eve now, do you?" Jake asked as he clasped her hand in his own. He spoke his words carefully, as he was treading on dangerous ground. "Where have you been, all this time?" He spoke his words with sincerity.

The answer came in a similar tone, laced with suspicion and bitterness. "You know full well where I've been. I should be asking you the same thing. Gotten another fiancé to parade around with?"

The emerald eyes boring through Eve softened. "No. And that's what I actually came here to talk to you about…?"

"What."

She really wanted him to go away.

There was no detectable anger in her response, so he continued. "It's only been two years or so when you left us. If you say yes now, it won't be too late, but I can't guarantee that if we have to wait any longer. The whole village still thinks you've gone insane! But we could cover… _that_ up, issue an announcement that you've been cured, and you can-"

The girl had heard enough. It was repulsive for her to even look at this person anymore, never mind touch him. She spun away, turning her back on the offender. "Pretend the entire incident never happened? Admit that I was wrong when I wasn't and just throw away the person I've been for the past two years?"

Jake stepped back, as if not expecting this. "Eve…"

"Stay away from me, Jake. I don't know what the Hell made you come talk to me tonight, but just keep out of my way from now on." She wasn't seething anymore, but still wounded. "It became 'too late' when you turned your back on me when I reached out to you for help."

_There's too many familiar faces here… I want nothing to do with them._

**…**

"She's right, you know."

A dejected Jake looked up from his seat to see a man with slighting shaggy black hair smirking at him.

"You'd do very well to stay away from Eve from now on."

"Who are you?"

"Someone who 'loves' her very much." Kain said. "And won't stand to see a person like you try to hurt her."

And then he walked away, leaving Jake to wonder what his words really meant.

**…**

"And now the moment you've all been waiting for." Victoria Britford said from atop the stairwell. It was midnight at last, everyone had gathered back outside to hear the closing words. This time, the husband was the one standing stately by his spouse's side. Another set of eyes to lock gazes with Eve. Another glare.

Faye clung a little closer to her sister to reassure her. She hadn't been told what had happened in the hour she'd been gone, but the aura of gloom and… maybe regret? Clung around her.

"For this year, I'm pleased to announce we'll be hosting a tournament! Contestants will be divided into sections based on whether they possess the ability to use magic."

"Aaaand now that we know, it's time to go home, Faye." Eve said, her voice bored and flat.

She stopped however, as Victoria continued. "Winner of both sections will receive a thousand gold pieces! We hope to see you as an entry at noon! Thank you all for coming!"

_A thousand gold pieces… I'm going to have to enter, don't I?_

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><p><strong>Oi, see what I mean? Corny speeches, a corny reunion, and a <em>really <em>corny and badly thought out chapter.**

**But wait! There's a Sebastian and Ciel cameo, isn't there? Surely that makes everything okay, right?**

**Right?**


	6. Ace in the Hole

**My current goal for this story: to get more than one review for at least one chapter.**

**(God, what a lame goal...)**

**Reaper-of-Lost-Souls: Thanks for the compliment! And no, you didn't miss anything! If there's a piece of information that's missing, it's because I'm keeping it hidden so I can reveal it later in a convenient plot twist of some kind!**

**Keep in mind, everyone, all the characters that have appeared up to now are completely open for questioning! Ask as scathing a question as you like, and the person involved will answer as in character as they can.**

**Also, next week I may not be able to update as quickly... when you get to the bottom you'll know.**

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><p><strong>The next day…<strong>

_I entered the damn tournament. I can't believe I entered the damn tournament._ The black mage thought sourly as she gripped the paper in front of her eyes.

The rules for the tournament were simple enough. Rooms to sleep in were provided and the tournament itself would take place over a number of days, depending on how many people signed up. Contestants were sorted into one of two categories, whether they had any kind of magic or enhancements. The setting of each battle would be decided at random, and constructed using the wonders of hard work, natural materials, and about twenty to thirty Mages working on creating each one. (Ah, the wonders of using magic to tend to your every whim.) There would be one battle at a time. Contestants were only required to attend ones they'd be participating in. Battles were lost when one fighter surrenders, couldn't go on with the match, or were somehow thrown from the arena's confinements. You were allowed to drop out of the tournament at any time, but if you severely injured anyone you were disqualified.

"It's not fair!"

Eve lowered the paper to see Faye's pouting face.

"You shouldn't have been put into the magic using section! You can't even use it! Won't you be at a disadvantage against everyone else?"

"Gee, thank you for getting my hopes up." Eve grunted. "And it's not like I have a choice. Magic or not, I'm a black Mage, which automatically lumps me together with all other magic users."

"Are you sure you want to go ahead with it?"

"Again, I don't really have a choice. The prize is a thousand gold coins, Faye. That's money we could definitely use to get by for the year. Besides, most of the other people participating are either a member of the village or one of the stragglers that might come in occasionally. The competition can't be that bad."

"Then why can't _I _fight?"

"You're too young."

"There's no age limit!"

"There is when you're my little sister. Some of the people here," Eve motioned with her head, "Would have more than enough reason to want to hurt you. And even if you can hold your own against every idiot that thinks they can kidnap you, I'd rather not take any unnecessary risks. Now, according to this map, the arena they set up should be…" Eve looked up. "Here."

A coliseum of stone stood before them, the color of the sun in which it shone in the light of. It was tall, stately, and every bit the kind of thing a white Mage would create. The smooth lines and simple shapes constructing the building displayed simplicity, the statues of Mages standing sentry to the entrance emitted an aura of grandeur, and the whole of it was a piece of art.

_Showoffs._

Eve took in a deep breath. "There's no turning back now, considering that to walk back across the entire span of the village towards home would take hours."

They stepped inside.

**…**

"Kain? _You're _here?"

The raven-haired healer nodded, looking pleased with himself for some reason. They were in some kind of holding room and Kain was "I've been asked to host! Looks like I was a lot more popular than I thought haha…"

"Didn't I say to keep a low profile if you wanted all those girls off your back? You never listen to anything I say, do you…" Eve muttered under her breath.

As if to prove her point, Kain conveniently didn't hear Eve's quiet rant at all. "And I'm also an accomplished healer, so I suppose another reason is to stand by to treat any injuries. There shouldn't be very many, considering injuries are frowned upon. Most likely I'll just have _you _treat, easily wounded as you are."

Eve could practically hear the hearts in his speech bubbles. It gave her goose bumps. "Shut up."

"Wah, she gets hurt so easily!" Faye interrupted the conversation. "I never knew that!"

"Oh yes, her skin tears like paper." Kain told the enamored Faye, suddenly quite animated now that the discussion had moved to something he knew waaay too much about. "I should know, I've probably seen more of it than you-"

"Shut up!" Eve repeated, pulling her sister close and covering her eyes and ears. "Don't talk in such a pervy tone in front of my sister, she's still pure!"

A ringing sound resonated, saturating the air. Everyone's head lifted to see where it was coming from, including the three arguing in the holding room.

"Oh, look." Kain pointed though a door that had opened in a stone wall. "The rest of the arena's opened up! Isn't this exciting?" He smiled.

True to his words, the open area before them had materialized both a castle of ice, (no doubt the setting for the first match)

"Oh, I hope I'm not going first. Last time I walked on ice, I slipped and broke an arm." Eve groaned.

Faye held her own sheet of paper, which she'd been hogging, that had each of the contestants' names and the order in which they'd be going against each other. "Nope, you're going second. And your opponent is…"

**…**

"…you again." Eve growled.

Miss Pigtails scowled back.

"And start!" Kain waved down his cane, which he had brought into the arena. He was standing on a levitating podium or wood that then floated upwards to become level with the first row of seats of the stadium, filled with onlookers including Faye.

Eve and Miss Pigtails (Her real name was apparently Cynthia Clarks, but Eve preferred the more derogatory nickname) themselves were standing in a plain old square of dirt. The stone walls were the same too.

Her opponents went "Hmph.", with a flick of her hair, evidently much calmer than when she last encountered her. "I must admit, it frazzled me to have someone like you talk to me that way, but when I thought about it, I realized, why should I listen to you? A liar and a murderer no one believes? Of course you'd say anything to keep your dirty hands on _my _future husband."

_Are you for real?_

"And now that we meet again," Miss Pigtails pointed accusingly at Eve, her eyes alight with fire. "I will definitely beat you this time! I won't let you get Kain!'"

_I don't believe it. You _are _for real._

"So watch out!" With a flourish, Miss Pigtails raised her hand and brought it down again, to reveal a book, inscribed in gold with letters Eve couldn't see from how far away she was. "Because this is _my Ace!_"

"… It's a book." Eve scowled. "You're going to try and beat me… with a book."

"Don't be stupid, stupid, it is so much more than that!" Miss Pigtail raged, as her hands slammed down on an open page. "This is a book of 'friends.'"

A circle appeared on the ground where the girl stood, and fire seeped out as in through unseen cracks. The fire collected as became a bird of prey, made of flame.

_What the Hell?_

"Do you like it? I'm one of the best magic students in my year, so I can keep my friends out as long as I want." Miss Pigtails bragged, much cockier now that she had the clear upper hand.

This air of smugness was soon shattered however, as she saw Eve blink once, then start to run away _very fast_, seemingly to avoid the fire bird that was now pursuing her. "What the- Hey! I just brought out my Ace! Now bring out yours and stop mocking me already!" Her voice went up an octave with indignation on the last syllable.

Eve was still sprinted, traveling in a straight line as the giant bird that was on fire continued to chase her. As soon as it appeared she would be overtaken, she hit the wall almost uncontrollably, holding out her hands to brace herself. As soon as the bird was upon her, she'd push herself off the stone and make her way to another spot on another random wall, repeating her actions. It was an odd process to de spontaneously, especially with a probably fake phoenix on your heels. Yet she continued. "No, don't mind me, Miss Pigtails. Just keep ranting on how your life is _so _unfair and I'll get back to you in a second."

Her opponent reacted by having a slight "WTF" moment. "Miss Pigtails? My name is Cynthia!"

"…Did I just use her nickname out loud?" The black-red haired girl asked herself as she paused slightly in her process of fleeing, before picking out the pace again when she realized she had to keep sprinting. "Well, that was slightly embarrassing. Seems like I don't care enough about you to bother remembering your name, sorry."

"Why you!" Miss Pigtails fumed. Turning the book to more pages, she clapped a hand onto all of them. "This will teach you to underestimate me!"

A boar, chimera, and a horse came to life the same way the first 'friend' did, and pursued their target, which had finished its aimless running and had stood still. They were readily stopped however, as if halted by invisible forces. The phoenix had soared up from its last swooping attack and was preparing to perform another.

"No offence," Eve said coolly, a great feat since a snake head was spitting poison not five feet away from her. "But I don't like to bring out my Ace unless it's necessary. And besides," the reaper's face darkened as she imagined her agricultural harvesting tool for an Ace. "You don't want to see it. Trust me. I don't need it to best you anyways. Just this," Eve pointed to her head. "And these." She reached out into thin air, and plucked an invisible string. The movement caused it to briefly come into view as the sun's light bounced off of it, then again went still.

Everyone gasped as they realized that the reaper's earlier movements were not just a very idiotic method of eluding attacks. The entire arena was laced with thin metal strands, anchored by the very stone walls it was housed in. The animals that were summoned via book, minus the phoenix, were ensnared, and most likely would stay that way until destroyed or drawn back by their master.

"As I said, I don't like bringing out my Ace too much." Eve explained, gesturing to the mass of animals ensnared in the metal wires. "I so mostly use wires and booby traps instead. They're pretty handy, considering attacks such as these happen to me a lot."

"What? How-" Her opponent spluttered.

"You can call it a _hobby._" Eve said. "I melt things of metal down; make them into chains and locks and such. These wires in particular I keep on me in cases such as this. Good for stopping large masses of enemies in their tracks. A favorite trick of mine is," Eve looked up see what she expected, the phoenix diving towards her again. "To coat them in animal fat beforehand to make them flammable, then set them on fire. But it looks like you conveniently took care of the fire part for me_._"

The phoenix struck, and it too was caught by a web of wires. As the flames from the bird spread from its wings, to the other summoned animals, to their creator, each animal was destroyed as they burned. Miss Pigtails' eyes widened as she found she was trapped as well, each wire near her getting too close for her to move without getting burned.

Eve remained untouched. (It would have been _very _stupid for a spider to be caught in its own web, of course.)

"Battles are lost when one fighter surrenders, or cannot go on with the match." Eve recited, watching as her opponent trembled with the effort to stay still. "So I suppose this is my victory. I seriously doubt you'll bother try moving at the risk of getting burned."

Above them, Faye crossed out a name on her sheet of paper.

Eve removed the strings as Mages moved in to change the scenery for the next match and her opponent was taken away, no doubt to receive mental help about the "horrifying experience" she'd just endured. Despite her victory, none of the people looking on were cheering, or rather, making any noise at all, save for one blonde shouting and whistling.

"I win, and no one cheers. Of course." Eve said dejectedly.

"It's because you make your fights so _boring._" Kain teased her as he helped her up into a seat from above. "People are coming here to see opponents trade insults, perform astounding fighting moves, and struggle heroically, until one comes out on top. And then you go in a just _beat _your enemy with an all too convenient strategy in a matter of minutes. It's not interesting at all!"

Eve glared as she took Kain's hand. "Shut up."

Then she sat back in a seat and observed the rest of the show, duly ignoring those around her who got up to take seat farther away from her.

* * *

><p><strong>So you've read of the first round of the tournament. The problem is, I need more contestants to fill in the rest. Not all fights will be between the main characters, and this is your chance, reader, to let your own characters shine! <strong>

**Tell me who you want to show up in the tournament, be it original character or an actual one, and I'll see if I can fit them in. Be sure to include a description, what he/she is doing at the tournament itself, and the kind of person you'd like to see them go up against. Until I have enough people (or I think of them myself) I won't be able to write as quickly so please help!**


	7. Fools

**I'm baaack, with a new exciting chapter! Okay, not really. No one at all gave me ideas for contestants, so I had to improvise. (T.T) I don't like this chapter all that much, it's more of a filler to prepare you for the next one. Because good God, the next one WILL. BE. AWESOME.**

**First order of business! shameless advertising! My friend on Fictionpress, Kuro Nic, has written short but steadlily growing in length stories! If you like anything to do with children being forced to watch their mothers get killed by themselves or an Angel, go read' em!**

**I've also opened my account there, under the same pen name I have here! When my two day waiting period is over, I'll be uploading a story named "Masterpiece", and a poem named "I look". They're both deliciously gory, and narrated as if by a lunatic, so chem them out if you like.**

**Second order of business! Review replies! (Pardon me for all those exclamation marks. I ate half a cookie during lunch and I'm still a little hyper.)**

**Reaper-of-Lost-Souls: Thanks for the review as always. And hey, on Deviantart there's a really good artist named AngelSkully that just uploaded a circus theme pic of Kuroshitsuji you may want to see. There's burning wires... just like in my fic...**

**Kyoki no Megami: Huzzah! A second reviewer! And yes, this story won't have too many Kuroshitsuji characters... it's sequel will, though. For your first question, there won't be full on romance, but there will be sick, possessive love and an awkward relationship between two kids that are like ten! Haha... not really, they're a bit older than that. Second question: again, the sequel with be LOADED with shinigamis and demons galore... but in case you're wondering, the next reaper, besides Undertaker, to show up appears in the next chapter! It'll be freaking awesome!**

* * *

><p>"Take this! My ultimate move!" Said the Mage.<p>

"… Ultimate move? Are you stupid or something?" Eve said.

The stupid Mage didn't answer, and instead clapped his hands above his head. Emitting a cry akin to a really lame battle cry, a blue ball of energy built up in front of him. It grew…

And grew…

And grew…

Until it was roughly the size of a horse. An obese horse.

Apparently at some point, the Mage was planning to throw the ball, or something, but her never got the chance to. At that point, Eve had gotten tired of waiting and just kicked him upside the head.

**…**

"Elegance and honor don't matter in a real battle. It doesn't matter how the fight finishes, the only important part in the outcome." She pulled her fist back, eyes flashing. "I learned that the hard way."

With a punch, Eve defeated her opponent, some martial arts fanatic that waved his arms around too much.

**…**

"Pfft, you cut yourself on your own wire?" Kain laughed through his nose at his patient.

"Shut up!" Eve said.

Fay looked a sheet clutched in her hand, and snuck away ever so quietly. She'd have to finish up quickly, to get back before her sister noticed…

**…**

_These people must all be idiots._

Such were Eve's thoughts as she witnessed the next pair to be pitted against each other.

Two generic mages were locked in an epic battle that was one part actual fighting and ten parts useless sparks and lights. The audience laughed at one of the contender's witty catchphrases, then gasped as said contender then tripped.

"With a thousand gold pieces up for grabs you'd think more people would take this seriously." She snorted. "Faye, how many people signed up for this? I'm going home if it's going to take all day."

"Uhhh…" Faye did a quick count of the names on her paper. "Enough to last two days-ish?"

"Why won't you let me see that anyways?" Eve tried looking over her sister's shoulder.

"Ah, well the writing's really tiny and you don't have good eyesight, see?" Faye said, a little too nervously as she frantically turned her body to face away from Eve. "There's more than enough people to last the whole day, I'm sure of it."

"Then I'm leaving." Eve got up and stretched lazily. "Are you coming too, Faye."

"Um, can I stay for a bit longer, sis? I want to watch more people trip over their own feet."

Never one to refuse her sister something since she rarely asked, Eve nodded. "Know the way back home, right?"

"Yes."

"Repeat it to me."

"Turn right and pass three streets, then turn left, then right, then right, then straight on until I get back."

"And what do you do it you forget?"

"Scream that it's all Kain's fault and demand that he take me home."

"Hey!" Kain said.

Eve ignored him and left. Immediately after she did so, many girls got up and claimed a seat near Kain.

**…**

"Why were you in such a hurry for you sister to leave, anyways?" Kain asked the much shorter person sitting beside him. "Don't you want her to be there to support you when you fight? Considering you signed up as well."

"Weeeeelll…" The blonde chuckle a bit and pushed her index fingers together.

Kain stared at Faye.

Then he stood straight up and started to walk away very,_ very _fast.

As he did so, the little blonde wrapped herself around his legs to stop his movement. "Waaaiiit, where are you going? Don't say you're gonna tell on me!"

"Well, what do you expect me to do? It isn't as if even if I _did _attempt to keep it a secret, I'd actually manage. Letting secrets spill at the worst possible time is a bad habit of mine..."

"Please don't tell my sister!" Faye pleaded, giving Kain a look with wide, teary eyes and a quivering bottom lip. "Pleeeease!"

Kain looked at girl. He sighed, and ruffled Faye's hair. "Damn, Eve was right about not being able to resist that face. Alright, I play along for now. Don't look to me if your sister finds out about this on her own. If you do, she'll kill me! Then scold you. Then kill me again!"

"I don't think you can die twice."

"She'd find a way. Do you want me to keep this a secret or not?"

"Of course."

"Okay."

"Yay!"

**...**

"You know, for a white Mage event, this is actually pretty hard-core." Eve told Kain the day after, who was sitting beside her as usual.

The healer beside her lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"

"Think about it. Even with rules in place prohibiting fights from going too far, I've already seen three people get injured. That's about three more than you'd usually see."

"Hmmm."

"And this whole 'having to mercilessly beat my enemy' thing isn't doing much for my reputation, is it?"

"True. There's been more rumors swirling around about than usual. Whisperings that you're a witch in disguise. " Kain leaned in waaaay to close here, and Eve had to swat his face away.

_He does have a point though. _She pondered the thought, thinking back to how the Britford family was hosting this year. _What are they thinking?_

**…**

_Why?_

_Why._

_The fuck._

_Do you._

"Keep showing up!" Eve howled, pointing at the man in front of her.

"Hello, Eve." Jake said quietly.

The tension between the two standing the ring of fire rose as did the flames.

_First the entire tournament. Then the up rise in rumors. Then this. What's going on?_

And yet, Eve knew that even if Jake wanted to give her any answers, she'd be deaf to all of them.

"And start!" Came the voice raining down on them.

Jake put his hands up to shoulder height. "Eve-"

The one he was talking to didn't let him finish, and instead threw a sucker punch.

"Wait! You didn't let me finish!"

"I don't need to." Eve growled. "This is a battlefield we're standing on right now, so fight me!"

"I just want to talk."

"You signed up to a tournament to _talk! _Bullshit!" Eve lunged for the blonde again.

Jake caught both of her hands and held her back. He was surprisingly strong; able to hold her back even though she'd gotten so strong over the years.

"Don't touch me." Eve kicked him hard in the stomach. Jake fell back and clutched his stomach.

She didn't even try not to cry; her tears had dried up when she was seventeen. "And shut up. You lost your chance to talk to me when you left me two years ago."

Jake looked heartbroken. "Eve…"

Eve shoved him through the flames.

**…**

Faye looked on in fear for her sister. She had won, having pushed Jake out of the arena boundaries. But why did everyone seem to be so angry at Eve…?

"Witch!" One man hollered out as he jumped down from the stands.

Ah, right. They all hated her.

Those watching, who had previously only stared on with stony silence, had suddenly burst into mutterings of disapproval. Completely owning several competing villagers in battle was hard enough on Eve's reputation, but apparently burning one of Center's end upstanding citizens had made several spectators a bit more than angry.

In fact, many people, more than the first man who had shouted "Witch!" were grumbling angrily under their breaths as they leapt down from the stands and started to make their way towards the two figures below.

"This is a disgrace! It's one thing to inflict bruises and cuts, but this is going too far!" Own woman dressed in white muttered.

"You're right. This is too far. She ought to be disqualified for this." Sniffed another.

Strange. Didn't the rules say the fight went on until someone surrendered? Wasn't it Jake's fault for not backing down?

One person broke from the gathering mass of people, a blonde with wavy hair. Victoria!

"Who are you?" Victoria cried, grabbing Eve by the collar. There were tears in her eyes. Faye couldn't tell if they were fake or not. "My daughter wouldn't have her fiancé like that? What have you done to Evangeline?"

Eve stared coldly, the ice in her heart showing clearly on her face, just the way Faye knew it would look.

Oh. She knew that was going to happen now.

"_Daughter? _Don't make me laugh. You're daughter is gone. There's just an empty husk in her place that _you _created." Her glare shifted to look at Alexander, who was just behind his wife. "Both of you." She said as she pushed Victoria away.

Further enraged, the crowd surrounding them pressed on. Cries of "We want her disqualified!" and "Witch!" increase.

"Now, now."

Kain jumped from his perch on the wall and landed right next to Eve, freaking her out just a little bit.

"Ohhh." Faye went. It wasn't everyday that she got to see Kain in action. Despite being a healer by practice, he was quite an adept fighter. Faye didn't doubt he could subdue the entire crowd if he wanted.

"Eve here hasn't broken any rules." Kain continued. Putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. (Eve bristled slightly and made a face that said "don't touch me so easily", but it was ignored.) "I suggest you all return to your seats and enjoy the rest of the show. If anyone gets too violent I assure you I will deal with them properly."

Reluctantly, one by one, the angry mob broke and slowly dispersed outwards.

Faye could hear one person complain loudly as he settled back in his seat. "Honestly, I always wondered why they would disown her for something as simple as running away, but now, after seeing this, I don't blame her. That girl is a monster."

She suddenly felt very sad. So that's what they were planning. Victoria and Alexander had tried for two years to convince her and Eve to come back to the family, for fear that the growing rumors surrounding _that day _would damage their reputation. And now, to save it, they were permanently going to tarnish Eve's.

The urge to talk back to that man was strong, but Faye fought against it because that was what her sister would have wanted her to do.

**…**

"So? You're not angry?" Kain asked Eve in the middle of the circle, which smoldered black after the flames had extinguished. "You don't have the opportunity to turn back now. The Britford family has turned its back on you."

"I never had an opportunity to go back in the first place." Eve said confidently. "I never intended to stop going forward. They got what they wanted, and now they'll leave me alone. And what they've done to my reputation? It's beyond me to care. You of all people should know what matters to me the most."

"It's me, right?"

"No, you idiot." Eve gave Kain a gentle punch in the shoulder. "My sister. And, well, 'that', too."

"Ah, yes." Kain grinned wide like an idiot.

"That."

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><p><strong>Come. Next week. I have the next three chapters written. It will be great.<strong>

**Also, go onto fiction press! Search out Kuro Nic and Chesspiece!**

**Now review or I may not update next week.**


	8. The Beginning of the End?

**Annnnnnd another Friday, another update, yeah!**

**Word of note, I've uploaded those stories I was talking about last week on my Fictionpress account, so go read them if you like blood and gore! Or at least, horror.**

**Reaper-of-Lost-Souls: Thanks! And yeah, the next three chapters are going to be awesome! Most of the next two chapters are flashback though...**

**I kinda felt like starting this chapter on a humorous note. At least, it is for us. Poor Eve's getting sick of fighting, haha. She starts to twitch a lot when frustrated. So imagine that just for laughs.**

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><p>Eve kinda felt like a lumberjack. Leaping from tree to tree! Chopping down vine after vine as she went! Not daring to slow down because of the vicious rose vines with poisonous thorns that were chasing her!<p>

_OH WHAT THE HELL IS THIS! _She couldn't help but howl.

Taking a risk she wasn't entirely sure would pay off, she let herself slip off a branch into the ground below. As the vines leapt towards her, she whirled in midair.

A flash of grey metal later, and several leaves and petal floated to the ground. Among them stood a very disgruntled, very frazzled, black Mage. She was currently grabbing the other Mage by the collar, with a growl that said "I'm going to absolutely obliterate you" and a knife stuck in his face.

"I don't understand." The wimpy brunette sniveled. "You should have..."

"Should have WHAT?" Eve started to rant. "Look at this!" She waved the curved dagger she took from her pocket in front of the other Mage's face. "This is a knife! Look at that!" She pointed at the shreds of plant material that lay on the forest floor. "Those are the remains of the plants you had chase me non-stop for a mother-freaking hour! Knife! Plants! What the fuck did you think was going to happen!"

As you could see, after three days straight of dealing with people like these, Eve was getting just a little bit pissed off.

The answer that came out next didn't really help. "You'd… lose? Hopefully?"

A spark seemed to jump from a black and red haired head.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

**…**

"The semi-finals at _laaaaast._" Eve sighed with relief in the holding area. "I thought I'd never finish this."

"You're not having fun?" Kain asked in a voice filled with mock horror. "But isn't that the point of this whole thing? To have fuuuun!"

Eve deadpanned. "How stupid are you? Fighting each other is not fun! Risking your life for the entertainment of others isn't fun! And going though about ten rounds of facing imbeciles who don't know what they're doing definitely isn't _fun_!" Depressed, she slumped against a wall. "I just want this tournament over with. I just want this whole _thing _over with. Everything…"

"Hey now, remember what your sister said about driving yourself into a depression." Kain tried (but not very hard) to comfort her, reaching over to pat her head.

"Where is she anyways?" Eve looked around, trying to spot any familiar halo of yellow hair. "Isn't she usually with me before each round?"

Kain shrugged. "Ah, she's probably preparing for her next match. She's going up next, I think." A full five seconds after he uttered this, Kain realized what he had said and clapped his hand to his mouth, a full five seconds too late.

"WHAT!"

Much too late.

"SHE ENTERED WHEN I TOLD HER NOT TO? AND YOU _DIDN'T TELL ME?_"

"Ehehe… she made me promise not to tell you but it somehow slipped out and- oh my, is that a ringing sound I hear?" The soon to the dead idiot cupped his hand around his hand around his ear, and with incredible luck for Kain, and none whatsoever for Eve, the bells that sounded to signal when the next round would be starting tolled. "We best be going!"

And with that, Kain pushed the indignant fighter inside, while he ran like hell for the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time to commence the semi-finals!" Kain bellowed out to the crowd as he floated comfortably out of the reach of the girl who was trying to brutally murder him.

(Eve meanwhile, when she had realized Kain would be out of her ashamedly short reach for the duration of the round, decided on winning the semi-finals before she beat the announcer up. This didn't stop her from muttering about it crazily under her breath, though.)

"I'm going to kill him I'm going to kill him I'm going to- eh?"

Britford manor.

Again.

_Oh whhhhhyyyyy?_

"How do you think out two contestants will fare battling in an exact copy of Britford manor? We have our own Grim Reaper, Evangeline Britford, surviving the entire tournament without revealing her Ace, and a mysterious man who defeated his last ten opponents through sheer strength,"

The two in the arena looked at each other, both standing outside the replica of the manor. For someone who had gotten to the semi-finals, Eve's opponent didn't look like much. He had a flashy red coat on, yet everything else about him was anything but. Mousy brown hair, glasses. A sweet smile that usually would have gotten him beat up. He didn't look like much of a warrior; more of a wimp.

"Grell Sutcliff, the Barnett Butler!"

The one named Grell bowed, saying, "So nice to meet you, Evangeline."

"...you're not real." Eve said, more to herself then to him, before running into the house and out of sight.

"W- wait!" Grell flailed as he ran after her. "Aren't we supposed to battle? Where are you going?"

The black and red haired reaper had run into the building for two reasons. First of all, to hide from the spectators still glaring at her from the stands; she didn't like being watched, especially by those who were now coming to her matches with the sole purpose of booing her, and if she was given an opportunity to conceal the ensuing fight, she was going to take it. And second…

"Alright, show me what you've got." She growled at the butler, who had followed her up three flights of stairs to what looked like a spare room, and had his hands on his knees while he was panted heavily.

She didn't trust a mere butler to be capable of "defeating his last ten opponents through sheer strength."

"Excuse me? I don't understand…"

"This," she gestured to all of Grell. "Is _not real. _If it were, you'd have been outmatched a long time ago. Hell, you would have smashed to bits." Her eyes narrowed. "This _persona _can't be real. Therefore, you're hiding something. Therefore, until you do tell me, there's no way I can actually beat you. So who are you, really?"

Grell went still, then suddenly straightened himself, grinning with pointed teeth.

"I'd hoped I wouldn't be found out until a little bit longer." He cackled and he pulled out his oversized hair tie.

Eve stepped back the tiniest bit.

_Okaaaayyy, wasn't exactly thinking of _this…

"Perhaps I'm losing my touch." Grell lamented, switching his round glasses for a red pair connected by a chain of beads. His hair changed too, burning from brown to red like a piece of firewood smoldering in the flames.

"Ever since that 'Jack the Ripper' incident it's been _so _hard to let myself unwind, I couldn't resist but drop by over here for a little vigorous exercise. Who can blame me for wanting to put on another grand performance while I was at it? Well, at least I can get out of this drab disguise of mine, for I'm not the Barnett Butler any longer."

_Are those… _fake eyelashes _he's putting on? The fuck, those actually exist?_

" Allow me to _properly _introduce myself. I am Grell Sutcliff, butler of DEATH!"

Grell opened his eyes, sticking his tongue out and making a strange symbol with his hand. "But I'm surprised you don't know about that. Aren't you known as the Grim Reaper around these parts?"

Eve bristled a bit, shuffling back as she slipped a hand in her pocket, attempting to reach the wires she kept in her pocket. She kept talking, to distract him a little longer. "It's not a very accurate name. Real reapers collect the dead to bring them to the next world. I just happen to kill people who deserve it. "

Then she launched herself at Grell, aiming a roundhouse kick at his face.

"What the Hell?" Grell snapped as jolted back. "I wasn't finished yet! What do you think you're doing!"

"Everyone has a weak spot." Eve glared at Grell, turning to face the other as she slammed her hand against the wall. "For a vain… person, like you, it's the face, isn't it?"

"The Hell it's the face! What do you think you're doing, you little brat?"

"Look, I just want to get this over with as soon as possible." Eve drawled almost lazily as she lunged for the redhead once more, running past him completely as she looped her thin cord around him. "So spare me the theatrics and fight me seriously!"

**…**

_Damn it, damn it, damn, it!_

Eve ran for her life through the mansion, not daring to look back at the devil in red chasing her.

Grell had gone _batshit insane._ Whether it was when she called Grell's scythe a rotating saw on a chain thing (he had ranted that it was a "Specially customized death scythe", whatever that was), or when she said the nickname Bassy made whoever Grell was describing sound fat, something in that Butler of Death had snapped. Eve had been expecting a martial arts expert or some kind of prodigy that got too conceited for his own good… but she'd hadn't been expecting a _complete maniac_ swinging whatever the Hell a death scythe was.

Not only that, but every trick she had hidden in her pockets was quickly rendered ineffectual by this 'death scythe' as well. Apparently, it was able to cut anything, not only her wires and string, but locks and knives as well.

_What _is _that thing made out of? Shit, he's just as fast as me, and even stronger… I should never had told him to fight me seriously. My and my big mouth, goading on opponents instead of cutting them down immediately…_

_As things are, the only advantage I have over him,_

Turning right, Eve flew through a corridor she knew would curl around to behind where Grell would be. Jumping him from behind, she felt familiar cool metal of her Ace come into being between her fingers. The blow she meant to deal was blocked by Grell as he spun to intercept it.

_Is that I know this place like the back of my hand!_

They were in the dining room, dominated by a large rectangular table situated underneath a chandelier. Taking advantage of this, Eve dove underneath the table, disappearing from sight. Grell took hold of the fine golden cloth concealing her, and with a feral growl ripped it away, revealing… nothing.

"Where are you, you brat?"

Hanging from the chandelier above (She felt briefly reminded of the one she sent crashing down on that coven of vampires what felt like a thousand years ago) Eve's widened as she saw Grell grab a handle attached to his weapon and pull it, earning a howl from the scythe. Knowing what to do now, she let herself drop, landing on the table directly in front of the redhead.

Ducking to elude Grell's next swing, Eve jumped back and gripped the handle of her scythe downwards, maneuvering it so the blade was positioned like a sword, only distanced three feet away from her body. She only had to hold her own a little while longer, just a few more minutes, to see if her theory on Grell scythe was true. In the meantime, holding her own scythe like a sword would be the best way of holding Grell off while keeping her distance.

And then Eve saw her chance a second time, as Grell prepared to yank the cord attached to his weapon.

She charged, which was a change from her earlier movements of evading and fleeing. The redheaded butler side-stepped, but as he did Eve clutched the handle attached to his scythe, pulling it outwards with one hand. With the other, she brought her blade down on the cord, severing it.

"Eh? It cut?" Grell screeched, trying to peer down the hole the cord had disappeared through. "How the Hell am I supposed to get this repaired? Death scythes can't just break!"

"The next time it stops spinning, it'll be the last." Eve grabbed the forgotten table cloth and made to smother the rotating blade with it.

Grell's eyes flashed. "Oh, no, I'm not falling for _that _trick again!" he said.

And as the saw was reaching its last rotations, he plunged in to Eve's side, sending her crashing down.

Eve screamed. Pain exploded as the seal on her body sent sharp stabs throughout her. Having it merely exist on her skin was hurt enough, but to do _this _to it was unbearable.

She would have thrashed and writhed if she was able to move at all. But now all she could do was scream and scream while Grell laughed and laughed, and thought of some way to end her. Eve almost blacked out but only got as far as having her vision fade; why wasn't she unconscious by now?

"Can you see what's happening to you now, silly human?" Her killer teased in a mocking voice, grabbing her head by the hair and yanking it up so her eyes met his. He leered. "_Real _Grim Reapers examine the life of those about to die. We decide if they're worth saving by looking at what they've accomplished in their lifetimes. A choice few escape their deaths when they are deemed beneficial to the world."

_No way… this guy is an actual reaper? They're real?_

"And it looks like you're not one of them." Grell continued, as he looked on at what must have been a record of her life. "A loving family, a pampered life… how boring! You're not worth saving at all." The reaper grabbed his scythe and prepared to drive it in deeper, intent on ending Eve's life. She didn't doubt he would go ahead. There was more than enough proof Grell words were true, and to a genuine death god, the insignificant rules of a tournament hardly held a candle to those of life and death.

_I am about to die._

_I am about to die._

_I am about to die._

_Wait… no…_

_Not yet._

_I refuse to._

"Eh?" Grell said in confusion as he found he couldn't move his death scythe any further into the fading girl in front of him. Looking down, he saw that over his hands, another bloodier pair was clasped, stopping his movement.

Leaning over and looking the red reaper's eyes, Eve choked out, "Keeping watching… you bastard." It could have almost been seen as a pleading gesture, if it weren't for the resentment in her voice and the glare in her eyes.

Eyeing the cinematic records still leaking from the girl's fatal wound, Grell looked on as Eve's tale twisted and took a different turn.

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><p><strong>CLIFFHANGER FTW!<strong>

**Also, review. Please.**


	9. Prize

**Slightly longer chapter than usual! Also, start of a two chapter-ish flashback. Yep, the oh-so interesting background story of our main character. This is also where that "M" rating comes in. Nothing graphic buuuuuut still really gross. Gore and dying and angst and... yeah. Kinda ties into chapters 62-63 of Kuroshitsuji. (See? I was planning this all along!) Some arcs in this story will bear similarities to the arcs in Kuroshitsuji, so keep your eyes peeled.**

**Seriously, though, whoever's reading this, don't miss the sequel. You know, the story I'm planning where 80% of the characters aren't OC's.**

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><p><strong><em>My life used to be<em> perfect.**

"Today's the day." Evangeline grinned as her shiny black hair was gathered back by a maid. "Aren't you excited, Marie? It's not every day we get to hold such a grand ball, I'm sure it's going to be lovely."

"Ah?" Marie was reaching into the nearby closet to withdraw a dress, white with purple accents. "Yes, I do believe you'll have a grand time, my lady."

"But surely you'll being enjoying the celebrations as well? You're so diligent with your work; it'd be a crime not to reward a hard worker such as yourself."

Infected by the young lady's happiness, the maid smiled too. Of course, my lady."

**_I was born Evangeline Sonata Britford, daughter of Victoria and Alexander Britford._**

After she'd finished dressing up and had gone to the dining room, Eve talked to her parents over breakfast: porridge with fresh berries and cream and spices.

"So Mother, Father, when will the ball be starting? We have to be sure we're ready in time."

Alexander put down his fork, having finished his meal. "Not until midday. A good thing too, we'll need a few hours to have the ballroom decorated."

**_They took care of me, taught me to be a good person, and to preach the seven virtues. They gave me everything, and I loved them._**

"In the meantime, why don't we go into town for some last minute purchases? Faye still needs a dress." Victoria got up to pick up a six-year-old Faye, who giggled.

"Yay! Shopping!"

**_Even more so, I loved my sister, whom I'd adored since the moment I felt her fluttering kicks in my mother's stomach._**

**…**

Everyone smiled and waved whenever they saw the Britfords' carriage pass by. How could they not? The Britford family was known for generations as a leading example of unity and perfection. They lived on the morals of kindness and fairness.

**_It was in a store that day when I first met Kain._**

Eve was looking at a collection of bracelets when a boy with short black hair and warm brown eyes came up to her. "You'd look nice with that one. White suits you."

"Hnn? Who are you?" She'd never seen this boy before.

Kain's eyes widened a bit as if he'd just remembered something long forgotten. "Oh, right." He chuckle and put his hand behind his head. "You're supposed to say your name when introducing yourself to others. Well, my name is Kain. What's yours?"

The child with jet black hair took the hand that was stretched towards her. "Evangeline. Since I've never seen you here before, I'm assuming you come from a nomadic family?"

"Yeah, my parents and I were just passing through, picking up supplies and all that."

"Really? You're not going to find many supplies in a females' accessories shop."

"Whut-?" Kain deadpanned as Evangeline giggled. "If you want things for traveling, there's a place down the street that has preserved food and such." She said helpfully.

"Ah, alright, thanks." Kain gave a mock salute as he slipped through the front door. "It was nice meeting you, Evangeline."

**…**

"I'd like to propose a toast." They were attending the ball. Victoria had stood and called for everyone's attention. "To Evangeline, the most talented and remarkable Mage we've been blessed with for generations. May your path lead you to a great destiny."

The star girl fought back a blush and everyone applauded and her sister gave her a big hug.

As the guests finished their toasts and started to dance the night away, Evangeline felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around. It was her fiancé, Jake.

Jake held out a hand, showing a confidence his slightly blushing face didn't completely portray.

"Would you like to dance, my lady?"

Eve smiled.

**…**

**_Yes._**

**_My life was perfect._**

**_But then I turned sixteen and it all went to Hell._**

She was running for her life. Twigs snapped beneath her feet and branches snagged her dress as she fled.

"Too slow!" A snarl burst from behind.

Something hit her from behind.

She couldn't move.

**…**

_Why is this happening to me?_

The scared girl wanted to go home. She didn't want to be here.

Not in this cage, not bound in these thick chains, and covered in this thick, choking cloth.

Not surrounded by jeering things that spat at her and prodded at her from outside like they were teasing an animal.

I want to go home…

"Where's your magic now, 'milady'? Fat lot of good it'll do you now. You must be so drugged up you can't move a thing. Ha!"

She fell asleep, in an attempt to at least temporarily escape this Hell she'd been put in.

**…**

They were going to sell her off. There was nothing she could do about it but sit there, completely powerless, like a lamb waiting for slaughter.

"And here we have the prize of the show, a young noble by the name of Evangeline Britford. Sixteen years of age, comes from a renown family of white Mages. You can keep her healthy and hold her ransom, or take advantage of the rumored purity of girls such as these. We'll start the bidding at two thousand gold pieces."

"Two thousand five hundred!"

"Four thousand!"

One voice rang out above the others, smooth like ice stretching across a frozen lake.

"Twenty-five thousand."

The deafening noise of the mass of people ceased; no one was able to best that kind of bid. The owner of the voice stepped forward to the front. Everyone stared. He was dressed to the nines, as was the rest of the crowd, but it wasn't that detail that set him off from the others. It wasn't the vivid crimson hair he had pulled back in a ponytail, nor the grin he had splayed across his lips.

It was his eyes.

"Going once, going twice, and…" The cocky smirk on the vampire's face widened as he stretched out his hand to gesture to the shivering prisoner in the cage. "I do believe that girl belongs to me now. May I have her now?"

A silence stretched thin between the huddling child in the cage, the onlookers, and the vampirac newcomer. When those who weren't human showed themselves in public places, the outcomes always varied depending on the people present. The response given whenever this happened could range from deluded worshiping to downright murderous.

"And who… ar' you?" The criminal who was spearheading the illegal asked squinted at the inhuman being in front of him. "T'aint everyday we have the likes of _you _swarming about."

The vampire swept down into a deep bow. His every movement exuded contempt and superiority. "Prince Eros Ashworth, current leader of the Ashworth coven. I've recently become interested in the idea of a human to keep as a pet," he grinned, showing wicked fangs. "And I heard they sold some lovely specimens here. I really wasn't disappointed. Now, I repeat my question: may I have the girl now?"

The auctioneer sneered, showing that he didn't have all his teeth. "Of course. 'Cept, I'm afraid there's a special tax for those who happen to be inhuman. A little… shush money, if you will. Things the likes of you aren't completely excepted around here, and it looks like you made a mistake reveal your true nature."

"Of course."

Screams rang through as figures landed from nowhere to stand behind the vampire. From their looks everyone could see they must have been the first blood-sucker's kin.

"Well, then," The redhead gave a smile, sweet as a sour apple as he turned his back to the auctioneer. "Why don't I pay with your deaths? Can't have the secret of our existence slipping out, after all. And we were getting somewhat thirsty."

Eros snapped his fingers. The vampire clan in front of him shifted.

Evangeline curled up into a ball as best as the chains would allow her, trying not to witness the following blood slaughter.

**…**

_Why?_

_Why?_

_Why?_

_Why?_

_Why?_

Every human there was dead except for her. Their bodies lay, bloodless and torn to shreds.

_Why?_

Eros was opening the door.

_Why?_

He was reaching out, and his hand kept going nearer and nearer…

_Why me?_

"Now, you're coming with me." He laughed.

**…**

A tongue slid over her skin, lapping up the blood. The very feeling of it revolted Evangeline and she would have retched if she had even eaten anything in the past two days; her food had been withheld as punishment for trying to escape one too many times. Thrashing and screaming had done her nothing, and now she only had the strength to whimper and bear with the torture.

"Hmph." A disproving voice tickled her ear. "Shouldn't you be grateful, pet? You could have been sold to any criminal under the moon and the sun, taken apart to be sold in the black market, or made to slave your youth away working against your will. But who would come and pick you up other than the prince of one of the most feared vampire covens in existence? The very least you could do would be to prove you were worth the lives of all those people we killed. Not that they were worth much in the first place. Ha."

He bit down again, and Evangeline could only tremble.

**…**

"Please… let me go…"

"Ah, I can't do that, pet." Eros laughed at her and brushed the hair away from her face. He was pinning her against the cold stone wall for the millionth time, and for the millionth time she could do nothing. She knew what was going to happen to her. Why couldn't she stop it?

Why can't anybody stop this?

"You're not going to faint already, are you? I haven't even," Her captor loomed over her as he said this. "Gotten started yet."

Laughing again, Eros closed the distance between the two once more.

**…**

_I have to get out._

Tugging on her shackles, Evangeline searched for something, anything that could break her bonds. She didn't care what happened to her in the process, she wanted to go home. Back to that safe sanctuary where everyone smiled and no one hurt her.

Though pure luck and endless hours of struggling against the metal that chained her to her cell, one of the links wore down and snapped.

She ran.

**…**

"Shame on you! Do you know the damage you've done to the family name?"

The hand that fed and comforted her so many times slapped her across the face.

She didn't understand.

All those years of learning virtues and being kind…

She wasn't lying at all. She just couldn't remember how she gotten home from where ever Eros had held her. Why didn't they believe her?

**…**

Since coming back from 'running away', as her parents had broadcasted to everyone, Evangeline had grown strange.

She wouldn't go outside anymore. Whenever she did, her peers who had once sighed in awe of her now avoided her. When she had first tried to tell them what had happened, they laughed in her face. Whenever Evangeline reached for help and insisted that what she said was the truth, her so called group of friends suddenly grew cold and drifted away somehow. Even Jake, who said he believed her in private, conformed to whatever the adults said when he was around him. After a while of reaching for help and finding nothing, she stopped altogether.

She became unresponsive to her sister's prodding. Unable to discern what was wrong with her sister, Faye had taken to trying to comfort Evangeline to no avail. In fact, Evangeline started drawing in all her emotions, becoming cold and silent. She didn't succeed in dispelling her feelings, but only locked them away, covering them with ice that eroded them bit by bit.

She became obsessed with chains and locks. Terrified of the prospect of being helpless again, Evangeline became fixated on escape magic, the same kind she'd seen performed during the festivals. It became her habit to carry with her a lock she practiced opening or a thin chain she'd fiddle around with. Her Ace, a staff she rarely ever summoned, aside for using magic, went from ivory white to midnight black, an almost unexplainable change.

She couldn't bear to look at her parents anymore. The fact that they refused to believe her drove a rift between them that grew every passing day. They constantly tried to take her metal trinkets away, only for her to mysteriously get her hands on more. Her mother would cry and her father would yell that she was never kidnapped, that she was ruining the Britford name whenever she let lies spew out of her mouth, and that she'd better stop this nonsense right now, young lady, before she was disowned.

**_All this time, as my family raised me to be the perfect child, they were only trying to shine their own image. It was disgusting. If only I had realized that and left them sooner._**

**_Maybe then Eros wouldn't have found me again._**

**…**

Evangeline was struggling through a fitful sleep when she heard the slight creak of her window opening. Before she could raise her head to see who was there, a hand closed over her mouth and she couldn't breathe.

Couldn't breathe…

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><p><strong>More cliffhangers! Yeah!<strong>

**Review lots and you might find out what happens next earlier than next Friday.**


	10. I Am

**Double digits yeah! Not that anyone seems to care. **

**By the way, does anyone else have their winter break start right now? If not... you probably live in a different country then me, but who cares! It's Christmas season, and I am SO HIGH on sugar from cookies and candy and everything.**

**Merry Christmas!**

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><p><em>Not again! No!<em>

She was back with Eros and he was standing over her the way a wolf looked at its kill.

Eros held one of his hands over Evangeline's throat, running his other one through her hair in an almost loving fashion, before pulling on it roughly. "I'm disappointed in you, pet. Surely you know better than to try running away again. I'll have to take measures this time to make sure you can't keep trying." There was a sadistic and bloodthirsty grin on his face, showing his fangs that glinted in the candle light.

"What are you going to do you me?" She cried out.

The vampire chuckled, running a finger over a bruise on the girl's right eyelid. "Isn't it obvious?" He said as a long fingernail plunged downwards towards her face.

"I'm going to stain you red."

Another claw started to carve something into soft flesh.

The girl screamed and screamed and screamed. Such was the reaction of someone whose eyeball was being gouged through.

**…**

For the first few days, she could not move. Instead of having drugs pin down her limbs with a heavy weight, this time it was pain that rendered her immobile.

It was everywhere. It flowed through her veins and left her writhing on the floor and screaming, and it burned through her eye, and _her eye, her right eye, _what had he done to it?

Her heart pounded to a beat that clashed like a drum in-between her ears. Thump, thump, thump.

Burn, burn, burn.

Eros laughed as she choked on her own screams and continued to wound her. A bite there, a scratch there. The marks on her skin faded but the sharp bitterness they left behind echoed long after.

A pretty little pet, Eros snickered at her, perfectly on the outside but burning alive on the inside.

She wanted to die.

**…**

Even if pain never subsides, you can become used to it.

It started with a twitching hand. It was just that, an involuntary spasm born of pain and frustration. Evangeline harnessed it and tried to grab and pull the chain around her ankle. Her wrist felt as if it was being twisted off, but it obeyed her commands. It dropped soon after, but for a moment, only a moment, it had broken free of the bonds of paralysis and had _moved._

Late into the periods that must have been daytime, when no one came to torment her and she was left to lie alone in her cell, Evangeline practiced shifting her body parts little by little, without giving agonizing shrieks of pain.

She learned to walk all over again.

**…**

It was pure and utter madness, but she was going to try leaving again.

**_Or, at the very least, I was prepared to kill myself trying._**

This time, she'd unlocked her manacle with little difficulty. Her practice had paid off, but the difficult part was eluding the guards that now stood sentry by her cell door. Eros had spoken the truth when he said he wouldn't let her leave again.

Aside from the door, the only way out was a window. A window that was big enough for her malnourished body to squirm through, but also situated above jagged rocks and raging waters. A cliff.

This is crazy this is crazy I must be an absolute loon…

She climbed down carefully. She couldn't see and her limbs were weak. If she made a single slip she would die, but at this rate she didn't have a choice. There was just the prospect of escape, and she took it.

Evangeline was halfway down. And then the rock her foot was rooted against gave way and she fell.

Or rather, she should have falling, but there was a peculiar pulling sensation between her shoulder blades and a flurry of pitch black feathers, and somehow she stayed afloat long enough to find her bearings again.

She heard cries, while she floundered aimlessly towards where the sun set. Something about losing a scent, and curses spat out at unseen followers.

**…**

A now grown-up Kain stood before her, having become a surprisingly skilled, settled permanently into the village, and, miraculously, somehow finding Evangeline when she'd collapsed she couldn't remember where. She recognized _him_ quite clearly, actually; a remarkable fact since they'd only met for a few minutes the last time.

"So how have the years been to you?" Kain chirped, as if the fact that his patient was still in quite a bit of excruciating pain didn't slight him in the least.

"Terrible." She was vague, as she didn't want to talk about it. "And what about you? What happened to your parents?"

"Ah, I'm afraid to say I've lost them. Been making it on my own ever since then."

"Oh… so did I. Just for a short while though."

She had no idea how she woke up there but she didn't care. Kain could have done who knew what to her but she didn't care. She body ached and burned at it probably would for the rest of her life, but she didn't care. She was going home again, and this time, they _had _to believe her.

**…**

**_Oh, they believed me, all right._**

"Mother? Father?"

Two sets of eyes stared at her in horror. At the terrible red eye she couldn't see through anymore. At the strange complicated crescent scar on her skin. At the red streaks in her hair that no amount of vigorous scrubbing had managed to erase.

Victoria and Alexander had pored over every book they had on vampire covens to come to the only conclusion. Their daughter was now marked as property of the Ashworth coven, one known for extreme power and ruthlessness.

**_And then they tried to cover up the while incident like it never happened, like the cowards they are._**

**_Disgusting._**

"How are we going to hide this?" Victoria wailed in a quiet breath. "How could this have happened to our baby?"

Alexander answered, his voice equally quiet. "We'll have to hide her. She can never be a successful Mage now, she can't even use any more magic!"

Her father's words were true. Ever since fleeing from Eros a second time, Evangeline had been disable by the inability to recall where'd she'd come from, again, and this time, she was also unable to create a single spark with her fingers.

" The most we can do is spread rumors to conceal the truth."

"The people will talk!"

"Not as much as they would if they knew what actually happened!"

Just beyond the door, Evangeline eavesdropped on their conversation.

Though her eyes looked dead and beyond caring, the rest of her body shook as something close to hatred bloomed in her heart.

**…**

Evangeline cried for exactly one night, but stopped when she saw the blood on her pillow and realized where it was coming from.

_What's happened to me? What did he do to me?_

Those sharp daggers still stabbed her in the chest, as strong and regular as the beating of her heart. She wanted it to stop… it hurt so much. Not just her body, but everything else too.

**…**

"Where are you going?"

Evangeline, having been caught red handed, looked guiltily at the innocent face staring back at her.

"…somewhere." She answered, barely whispering. "Somewhere not here."

"Can you even do that?"

"I'm of age; no one can stop me."

"Oh." Faye looked down. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. Evangeline turned her attention back to the meager collection of money and clothing in front of her. When she looked back, her sister was gone.

**…**

"Are you sure you want to make this change?" The man in the black suit in front of her said. "It's too late for you to start studying for a certain profession, so you'll have to work as a floater. Unless, of course, you're willing to fill the vacant position of reaper…"

"Yes, I know." Said the girl, whose hair now covered her right eye. She took up the quill pen and signed her name.

Evangeline Sonata Britford then started her new life as a black Mage, and left her old one behind.

**…**

Becoming a black Mage also meant changing to a completely different curriculum at the Acadamy. It was hard, changing from spring to winter. Picking strategy over poetry. Weapons maintenance rather than embroidery. Combative fighting instead of dance.

Being a warrior instead of a scholar.

She didn't flourish at first. A combination of failing magic (she'd never been able to produce anything magical since_ that_ day) and not knowing what the Hell she was doing meant a serious nosedive in her grades.

But she pulled up. She had to.

She'd never accomplish her goal in life that way.

In a way, it was exactly how Evangeline expected. It was a harsher atmosphere, one of seriousness and solemnest. Your linage didn't matter here: only if you could fight.

She still never talked to anyone, though. With rumors of witchery and that day surrounding her, many of her classmates were content not to try making contact with her either.

**…**

Trudging down the very stone steps she'd once glided across, Evangeline barely looked as those she went near quickly shuffled away. She stopped to stand in front of an old building that seemed to have two stories and nothing else. A far cry from the manor she grew up in. In the fogged glass she saw her reflection for the first time in months, and nearly gasped at what she looked like. The thin, pale, gaunt face was half-covered by hair. The pretty white dresses she used to wear were replaced with a black coat that was too small for her and equally dark pants.

But she came to terms with her appearance quickly and calmed down.

_Right._

_That girl is gone._

_There's just this… thing in her place._

**…**

**_I like to think my sister saved my life. She picked me out of the dark hole I was digging for my grave, and at the very least, stopped me from falling into my frequents rants of despair._**

**_So when she came to live with me I decided to protect her life as well._**

The knocking on her door surprised her. Hardly anyone visited her, even after she set up her shop.

Opening the door, Evangeline peeked outside to see a girl of eleven years of age with yellow hair and sparkling blue eyes standing before her.

"Sis?"

When did her voice become so strong? It'd had been a while since she'd last seen Faye.

"Can I come in? I… left Mama and Papa. I don't really want to go back."

She could never say no to her sister.

Evangeline let Faye in.

**…**

When there was a particularly bad harvest, Evangeline calculated the money she had and realized that the meager payments she received from working as a floater, a Mage which simply drifted about aiding others with difficult jobs, wouldn't be enough to last for the year. She didn't want to have to send Faye back to her parents either… who were desperately trying to get their younger daughter back, but to no avail. (Being seventeen and an official adult, Evangeline managed to procure guardianship of her sister due to the fact that they were related and Faye had consented. Since finding out, the very furious Britford family had tried time after time to come back.)

So, in addition to being a floater, she decided to become a reaper.

Being a reaper was a hugely unpopular job, even among the black Mages. The prospect of killing one of your own species was one taken very seriously, and only one person at a time was given the burden of being a reaper, if there was one at all.

To be a reaper meant killing criminals and executing those who have been convicted of grave crimes. It meant having blood on your hands and being on a completely separate plane from everyone else. When then again, Evangeline was already alienated by about the three-quarters of Center's end that had heard about her, what did she have to lose?

"Are you sure you want to go ahead with it?" Faye had inquired when she had first brought it up. "Why would you want to do something like that anyways?"

"I have my reasons." Evangeline didn't really have the heart to tell her that her inability to support more than two people financially was one of them.

She did have other reasons.

I know Eros is going to come back for me one day… it's a surprise he hasn't found me already. When he does come, I need to be ready for him. And that means being able to kill. To get stronger.

"Well, whatever they are, I'm supporting you." Her sister said solemnly, giving her a reassuring hug.

"Thank you."

**…**

Her first murder was rather troublesome. He was a serial kidnapper that had a habit of going after young girls. At first, she'd thought she wouldn't be able to go ahead with it… but the criminal had done something that had made her instantly change her mind.

For one thing, he had managed to stab her, and it hurt. She'd been careful not to get injured ever since escaping from Eros, and now the searing feeling had returned ten-fold. It was then that Evangeline discovered that from then on, the pain from every one of her wounds would be amplified.

And for a second, he was also the first to target Faye, thinking like many others that would come after him that she'd fetch a hefty ransom. Instead, Evangeline had found him to fetch her sister back.

"Close your eyes." She whispered to Faye.

_Ah, yes. There's another reason to be a reaper._

Evangeline raised her Ace, which had changed from a staff to a scythe when she had made her resolve to actually kill the kidnapper.

_To protect my sister at all costs. Because she's one of the only things I have to live for._

The disgusting man before her had tried hurting her sister, and had tried and succeeded with countless other girls. He'd attempted to cajole his way out, a sound Evangeline would grow to become used to over the years. Cajoling turned to begging and begging turned into taunting, when the kidnapper thought that she didn't have the guts to end his life after all.

_It's the best way._

She proved him wrong and cleaved him right in half.

There was so much blood.

**…**

Kain sat down beside her and brushed the hair from her face. After months of attempting to hide it from him, Evangeline had finally let Kain look at her whole face. "What happened to you?" When she didn't answer, he continued to talk soothingly. "I could help you, you know."

Her words came out hesitantly. "I can't afford it."

"We can make arrangements."

Something about him made her pour her entire story to him.

_So much for not wanting to talk about it._ She thought wearily as she finished her morbid tale.

"I see. So you're not Evangeline Sonata Britford anymore are you? Just as well." Kain pet her hair. He seemed to wholly believe her story, unlike her family upon hearing it the first time. Unlike Jake. "I'd much prefer calling you Eve. How about we let that be the first condition of our agreement?"

Eve nodded. "Okay."

**…**

Snapping jaws and bristling fur. A werewolf attack.

Eve and a line of other black Mages stood sentry along the village's borders, not budging an inch, even with the flurries of snow swirling around them and biting at their thin bodies.

She was almost eighteen. Only six months ago she would have dissolved into a puddle of cowardly mush.

But she has truly changed. Hardened. She stays cold as stone, whether facing off another wild animal or when being splattered with a victim's blood, the protective wall she put around her heart doesn't even crack. It didn't when she was killing monsters. It didn't when her former fiancé tried to get it back. It didn't when Kain tried a new treatment on her that left her writhing in pain for three days straight.

She is a real black Mage now.

**…**

"What are you going to do with it? Your life, I mean." Kain had once asked her, out of curiosity. "If I were you, I would have given up living a long time ago."

Eve contemplated the thought and came up with two reasons. "I have to take care of my sister." She said first. "And…"

"And?" The other inquired as he wrapped a poultice around her hip, earning a slight hiss. Eve looked away as if still drowning in thought.

"And I'm going to kill Eros one day."

Kain looked at her approvingly and murmured something close to "Good girl."

**…**

"That… is why I can't… die." Eve choked out before vomiting a fountain of blood. She hissed as the last of her energy left her and she felt her hands begin to grow slack. "To rid this world of one of its greatest evils… isn't that beneficial enough?"

Grell suddenly adopted a bored look. What a strange cinematic record this girl had. It was colored so thoroughly with red… it'd be a disappointment to not let it get further stained. There was much more bloodshed this girl would have to go through, and heavens knew how much he loved to shed blood…

He snorted. "Well, I suppose it's enough not to go to the effort of causing anymore damage. Given the nature of this world, you don't have fixed due dates anyways. Besides, it's no fun going up against a little girl who's to helpless to even move."

Grabbing the scythe still lodged in Eve's side, he pulled it out, the blade dripping with blood as he did so. The victim in front of him gave a ghost of a scream, too tired to emit a real one. It seemed that even though Grell had spared her life, (a very rare occurrence) she wouldn't live long without help. (And yet, unknowing to her, Eve's cinematic record was already rewinding, the strands of memories being greedily sucked into her body, as if it being torn away from it had made no difference. What was this girl?)

Evidently no longer interested in the near dead body in front of him, Grell as Eve cursed her stupidity (shit… ) and fainted. Again.

Then, with a swish of his hair, and a few thudding steps, Grell was gone.

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><p><strong><strong>I haven't gotten any reviews for the last two chapters T.T But whatever! No matter how much people might hate this story, Imma keep going till I get to the end, bitches!<strong>**

****Also, anyone willing to beta this story? I'm so bad at finding typos. If no one answers, I'll just find one myself.****


	11. Prim and Proper

***LA GASP* Are we really already at chapter eleven? But I only have two more chapters completely written out! *Starts to type frantically.* Thanks for sticking with me for so long!**

**Reaper-of-Lost-Souls: Thanks! The last two chapters somewhat corresponded with the more recent Kuroshitsuji chapters, what with the flashback and all. I'm trying to put as many ties with this story and the actual manga as possible in subtle ways.**

**Angel Davis: Thank you for living this story! Though I think you may have written a typo. **

**Stay tuned because MORE UNDERTAKER AND DEAD BODIES YES.**

**After this next arc, which includes the introduction of two new OCs. (Which I promise aren't NEARLY as Mary/Gary-Sue ish as the main character _oh Goooood._)**

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><p>With a gasp, Eve's body jolted as she suddenly came to.<p>

And bumped her head against Kain's who was crouching rather creepily above her at the time.

"Argh!" Eve fell back immediately and grabbed her head almost comically. "What is it with people watching me while I sleep!"

Kain rubbed his nose in the corner decided not to dignify her words with an answer.

Faye just laughed at them.

"Aw, my forehead. What the Hell happened." Eve demanded.

Faye overflowed with words. "I won! I won the tournament!"

Eve's sister jump onto Kain's bed (That Eve was using at the time) and bounced up and down vigorously. The injured girl bounced to, and made a waving groan that crawled out of grit teeth.

"I got to the final and there was this kinda weird dude who said his name was Grell and he would not shut up! He got really distracted and because you said that's the best time to strike, I went and kicked him in the balls! He made a weird noise and doubled over and then I beat him up. Like, I owned him! It was amazing, really, you beat him around the face and he cries like a baby. He almost swung his saw on a chain thingy, but then this other dude with a stick showed up. He went "Grell Sutcliff, you have broken the rules again", and then he rang off some long list of stuff I didn't understand, like "This is the last straw for Human Resources" and "You won't be let off easy this time." And something about a death scythe! "What's a death scythe?" I asked, but the William dude just looked me like he just noticed I was there and said he was there to collect the reaper, and I think he meant the redhead. Then he beat Grell Sutcliff up more and dragged him away. He gave me some card, but it kinda floated away and ahhh, what's with that scary face….?" Faye's rambling suddenly melted into fearful gibberish.

For Eve indeed had a scary face on. (You could practically see the word DOOM in the background.)

"While we're on the subject on the tournament," She said as she sat up quickly (and winced a tiny bit as she felt her stitches bend.) "Why did you enter. Without. Telling. Me. When I said not to."

"Well…" Faye's eyes widened and she tear up. Her lip quivered. Suddenly, she burst into tears without any warning. She wailed, hugging her sister with all her might. "I'm sorry! We needed the money and I thought if I entered too then we'd have a better chance of winning! I didn't want to tell you because you would say no! Please forgive me!"

"F… Faye… can't breathe… lemme… lemme and I'll forgive you!" Eve choked out.

The blonde with the iron grip did… for a second, but then she returned to strangling and blubbering again. "And Kain found out and I made him cover it up I'm sorry!"

"What- hey!" An indignant Kain shouted.

"Then there's only one thing to do." Eve had an almost serene look on her face as she sat up straighter. "Blame Kain." She said, very apparently not caring if he heard.

He did. "What? Whhhhhyyyy?" Scurrying from his corner of shame, Kain shoved his face too close, as usual, to Eve's.

Eve stared at him.

Then she said. "Faye, go home for the night."

"Okay." Never one to question her sister's orders, Faye did so.

Eve kept staring at Kain.

"…"

"?"

Then her hands shot out, and they were clasped around Kain's neck, and she had flipped him onto his back, because screw her injuries, she was going to _strangle the fuck out of him._

"Listen up!" The growl burst out of her throat as she throttled the man underneath him. For someone being violently choked to death, he was reacting rather mildly, only looking slightly surprised. "There is one person I trust the most after Faye and that is _you_. That means I trust you look after her when I can't, you know that! You. Don't. Let her. Do this! Or I don't forgive you."

"Ah, well. Uh," Kain said after the throttling was done. He tried to get up, but was shoved back down. "I tried to say no, but you know how she makes that face!"

"Then resist it! You're mentally stronger than me, you can actually do it. Ugh." Eve looked away from him, as if suddenly disgusted. "Why the Hell do I stay near you." Immediately after asking this question, she regretted it, because she'd asked it before when alone, and she _really _didn't want to hear what Kain thought.

"Well, not only am I the only non-family member that speaks to you, but you also put your life."

"Shut up. Just shut uuuuup."

Upon hearing this, Kain had a sudden change in demeanor, as he suddenly got very close to Eve and chuckled. "Oh, you know it takes more than that to shut me up."

"!"

He was suddenly too close for comfort. However, decided to indulge him, Eve decided to play along. "Oh, I think I know what you're talking about." She whispered, leaning in slightly.

**…**

Yup.

Eve probably did know what he was talking about.

Why he fought so much when she tied up and gagged him, she may never know.

_Ow, my mortal wounds. _She winced a bit as she staggered the short walk home. _Kain can put up a helluva fight._

**…**

"You… you idiot!" A pillow hit the older sister's face.

"Ow! The horrible, horrible wounds in my side! Why would you _do _that?" (Oh course, the pillow did nothing to worsen said horrible wounds.)

"Why didn't you kiss him!" Faye demanded.

"Well, because he's a very mean person and WHUT." Eve suddenly froze. "Did. (o.o) You. (O.o) Just. (O.O) Say."

"Why didn't. You kiss him?" Faye said as seriously as possible. (Which, on her twelve-year-old face looked absolutely adorable.) "He was practically asking for it! He loves you, doesn't he."

Eve looked at Faye.

Faye looked at Eve.

And Eve burst into rambunctious, tinkling _laughter._

"Ha! Hahahahahaha! I haven't laughed like that for the longest time." Eve wiped a tear, and then, having another abrupt change of mood, straightened up. All traces of her brief happiness gone. "Kain does not love me. Any thoughts you have on the subjects are delusions. End of discussion, and now you're getting really sleeeepy…"

"Sis!" Faye huffed. "I'm _twelve. _That's not going to work on me anymore."

Her sister considered actually trying hypnosis on Faye, but decided against it; she had no idea how to hypnotize people, and instead tried explaining things. Eve fell into deep thought for a bit, trying to think of a way to describe her situation to Faye without freaking her out. "It isn't affection… in that sense. Er… he's kinda like… a… brother. Yeah, that's it."

"But he's told me he's seen you-"

"Every word that comes out of his mouth is a lie. He's like a brother. There's your answer. Now get to bed."

"What! But-"

"And don't think asking me awkward question will make me forget what you did."

"Shoot." Faye groaned. "Well, good night!"

"Yeah."

_No way._

_There is absolutely _no way _Kain feels like that._

_…_

_Agh, the mental images! Stoooop!_

**…**

"Are you saying this is the only shirt I've got?"

"Yup."

Eve was tugging at what Faye like to call a "summer shirt" which meant a black blouse with white stitching, a giant red bow, puffy sleeves, and a top button that would not. The fuck. Become. Undone.

She didn't like the shirt all that much. But then again, she didn't have much of a choice. Her coat, unfortunately, had been shredded to pieces in her last… adventure.

"This is going to become a running gag, isn't it." Eve groaned.

"'Fraid so."

**…**

The next few weeks that happened after a spring celebration were always busy. Junior Mages, whom, depending on which kind they were, would switch from their studies to taking a nice long vacation, or vice versa. Faye, who didn't have to return the academy for another six months, was finally old enough to take some temporary jobs to earn more money. She expressed melancholy at not being able to patrol marches and possibly set things on fire with the excuse of protecting the village, but her sister explained to her that there was no way in Hell the higher ups were going to let a twelve-year-old do such a thing.

Senior Mages, having finished their schooling, usually took up some other kind of profession to support themselves when they weren't "in season". While they were, they were organized to protect the village against the onslaught of bloodthirsty creatures that threatened to destroy Center's End. (Although, white Mages often had no wild things to guard the village against other than the occasional giant carnivorous plant, so they usually ended up spending their time pulling together a grand performance of some kind. Lucky bastards.)

Eve, as mentioned earlier, ran a shop of metallic wonders. From sparkling golden birds to statues of stately bronze, she sold anything and everything made of metal. Although there were a few useless ornaments, she specialized in locks and chains, taking as long as several hours to create locks that would yield to no one without a key. (Except herself, of course.)

Kain sold herbs that did weird shit.

Despite this, his business was far more successful than Eve's, especially when you included the idiot rabid fan girls that often bought the "love potions" he sold that did _nothing_. While he often made enough sales to let him comfortably drift through six months of the year, Eve often had to take extra "floater" jobs to stay alive.

_GmthiblewgARGH. Whhhhhyyy…_

Which is why she took an assignment to introduce two wanderers to Center's end and integrate them into the academy.

Wanderer's were simply people who, well, wandered around until coming to settle in a village. (There were nomadic clans that moved regularly, but they never stayed in one spot two long.) As the village was rather small, anyone who was willing to come in and fill in a spot was welcome.

Eve didn't usually take jobs like this. She didn't like to be near new people, or rather, most people in general. She was the worst suited person for this particular assignment- buuuuut, she had no choice but to go through with it. (Besides, her sister had told her, she might have the chance to make _new friends._)

So there she was, waiting outside of an academy she absolutely hated in the sweltering sun for two people she didn't even know. However, she spotted the two soon enough, and approached them in a brisk manner.

"Are you the ones enrolling here?"

One was a boy and one was a girl. The female was blue-eyed and had straight, long, white hair that fell in peek-a-boo bangs. According to her application form, her name was Prim, and she definitely lived up to her name; she was wearing a rather fancy dress, creamy white dress with black accents.

The boy was named Proper. Strange name for a boy, or a human at that. He seemed the polar opposite of the girl that clung to him, with black hair and red eyes. He was also rather scruffy and dressed in dark, shabby clothes.

It was Prim that answered. Her voice was light, but strong. "Yes. Are you the escort who they promised us would be here?"

"Yes," She introduced herself, stretching a hand towards the pair in a formal greeting. "My name is Evangeline. You can call me Eve."

Prim reached out and shook Eve's hand. After some silent prodding in the form of an elbow, Proper did the same.

"Well then," Eve said, turning towards the double doors that led into the Mage academy. "Let's begin with a tour, shall we?"

* * *

><p><strong>Prim and Proper! Remember what I said about them not being Sues? Yeah, I may have been lying through my teeth.<strong>

**These two were originally meant to be cats that were accidentally turned into humans, but I turned it the other way around to fit the story better. Remember; Proper isn't Prim and Prim _definitely _isn't Proper.**

**You'll find out what that means soon.**


	12. INFORMATION OVERLOAD

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**WARNING. THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE STORY'S MAIN SETTING, INCLUDING THE CLASSIFICATION OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF MAGIC, THE REASON FOR THE MAGE ACADEMY, AND THE REASON WHY SOME PEOPLE WALK AROUND WITH CAT EARS. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT READ THROUGH 2500 WORDS OF THE DESCRIPTION OF AN ORIGINAL SETTING THE AUTHOR SPENT SIX MONTHS THINKING ABOUT.**

**OR, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE JUST A FANGIRL OR SOMETHING WHO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING THAT ISN'T YAOI.**

**...**

**DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO TURN OFF THESE CAPITOL LETTERS?**

**ANYONE!**

* * *

><p>"There are two kinds of Mages in this village." Eve said with an air of declaration, pushing open the pair of mahogany doors that were the entrance to the Mage academy. "Black." She gestured with one hand. "And white." She held up the other. She stood in the center of the foyer, surrounded by ebony and ivory statues of soldiers poised for battle.<p>

"When you start as a student here you're going to have to choose kind or the other. You can switch sides, but only after filling in the proper paperwork and only twice. The choice you make also affects what you do during different points of the year. White and black Mages are trained to defend and guard the village during the summer and winter months respectively. When your shift arrives, you do this by taking tasks that need people to sign up for them. A bodyguard for a traveler, someone to patrol a certain place. You get paid, of course."

"So… half of the year." Prim piped up.

"Yes. Although…" Eve looked a bit guiltily back on the times when she used to be a white mage. "White Mages don't usually have to deal with much because the majority of the time beast will attack us to raid our food supplies. Most of the time, they only need to deal with the occasional rogue bear or giant carnivorous plants and insects of doom." Seeing Proper's anxious face, she added. "Well, they're just giant carnivorous plants and insects, really. My sister has a habit of taking on the 'doom' thing. Moving on. When not working, Senior Mages are free to use their time as they choose, though for some, most of it is spent working a second job to support themselves. Junior Mages take up their regular studies. Again, the curriculum is different depending on what type of Mage you want to be. Black Mages learn more in the areas of combat, defense, strategic fighting, etcetera, while white Mages are more inclined towards the arts; dance, drama, and music. Of course, no matter which side you choose, you have to learn magic." At this, Eve shot the two tourists before her an inquiring look. "You're aware of the branches of magic, yes?"

"Uhh." Both of them said in unison.

With a sigh, the 'guide' continued reciting. "Magic is split into two different branches. First; elemental magic. Rather self explanatory, this is the ability to manipulate one or more elements. A very formidable, but very rare, power. Only reAnimi Mages have been found to be able to do this, and even so any kind of elemental ability shows up in just a handful of those as well. The second, much more common, type is distortion. This only exists in this world as far as we know. Because of our… unique world, there are instances where matter will bend the way it is not supposed to, or when or do something that it is not meant to do. This is a disrupted in our reality, and distortion magic is learning to control and harness this. While Mages can learn to use distortion in all of its different branches, most choose to amplify one ability."

"This is a lot of information to take in." Proper said nervously. He seemed to do everything nervously.

"Yes, this is basically a giant information drop for you two." Eve admitted.

"And for the readers." Proper said with a whisper.

"What?"

"What?"

Eve gave the raven-haired teen a funny look, but shook it off and shrugged.

_Whatever._

She took a deep breath and continued.

"Distortion magic is also the main way we migrate. Some communities may be nomadic, moving short distances very often, but here in Center's end, every two years we travel a long distance towards where the sun sets, and often homes and other buildings are simply levitated off the ground. Usually the families who don't have at least one adept Mage will have someone volunteer to help them, but if not, they'll have to pay a Mage a large amount of money to keep their house. When anyone like you two, wanderers, decide to integrate into the community, and to attend the academy, you are first tested on your overall ability. Depending on how well you do, you may be able to skip a few years of schooling. Understand?"

The two before Eve nodded, Prim, much more vigorously than the other. She turned to Proper. "We should definitely both become black Mages, don't you think so?" She prodded him.

"Whaaat? But it sounds hard. And scary…"

"Oh come on! You're so smart; you'd be able to graduate in a heartbeat! Don't be a wuss!"

Attempting to change the subject, Proper raised an arm, waving it wildly. "Erm, Eve? You mentioned something about re…Animi… what exactly are those?"

"You want me to tell you about reAnimus Mages?" Eve asked. "Better. I can show you. Follow."

**…**

"What is this place?" Proper asked as the group came to a room with several doors and open rooms, after navigating a tangled mess of hallways and stairs. "There's lots um… people beating… other people."

"This is an arena, open to all Mages for use. You can sign up to train with a partner, or put your name in for a free-for-all. I don't recommend doing that, by the way. Now, if you'll look over there."

Two heads turned to see a Mage fighting against another. They were locked in close combat, dodging fists and aiming kicks at each other at a near blinding speed. At first, it seemed the redhead with the lanky legs had the advantage… until the brunette got up from a blow and Prim and Proper sucked in their breath.

"_That _is a reAnimus." Eve pointed to the Mage that had suddenly gained wolf-like features. Now that the Mage had gotten up, his ears and tail were much more apparent. "Mages born as a reincarnation of an animal. We have quite a few in this village; about one in every five hundred Mages born have reAnimus tendencies surface by age eighteen."

"Like this?" Prim asked.

Eve turned around and went "Gwahh!" Because Prim had sprouted cat ears and a long, puffy tail to match. "Y-yes, just like that. Does your partner have… er…"

"Yup!" Chirped Prim. "Except his are black, you know? We don't have elemental magic, but we can jump really high. Are you one? A reAnimus, I mean."

The brief vision of black wings of metal flashed through Eve's mind.

"…Possibly."

_She brings up a good point. Am I…?_

"Hey, where didn't Proper go anyways?" Prim's voice broke Eve out of her stupor. "Proper? Prop- oh no, not again. This always happens."

"What does?"

The white haired girl pointed to her partner, who was being lifted off the ground by a bulky Mage who was currently yelling at him about something to do with chickens.

"_That._ Proper is really shy, and he doesn't interact with others much. I keep telling him to stick by me, but he keeps getting lost somehow. Soon enough, he somehow gets a big strong dude angry and I have to go save him before he gets beat up. Hey you! The bald one with the terrible clothes! Let go of the wimp you're trying to assault right now! Oh, you can't hear me? We'll see about that!"

And she sped away.

_And she says that Proper is the one always wandering off…_

**…**

"Ah? But I never said…"

"Shut your mouth, fool! You have five seconds to get out of my face before I blow yours off!" The brawny dude snarled while poking a silver gun near Proper's temple.

The teen, who had let his cat ears come into view due to being too nervous to remember to hide them, looked around and whimpered. There were people collecting around the scuffle, and none of them looked too friendly.

"Two, one!" The brawny one roared, and the gun went off.

No bullet ever came. Instead, Proper's previously squeezed shut eyes snapped open to a see a girl blocking the gun's barrel with her bare hand. She looked up at the Mage's eyes, her own possessing cat irises.

"Idiot." Prim spat through grit fangs. "Didn't anyone tell you to pick on people your own strength?"

And she picked the grown man up and flung him into the sky.

**…**

"Oh, no, no, no." Eve groaned upon elbowing through the mob to witness the spectacle.

Prim was, to say, completely owning whoever dared approached her. For someone with such a slim frame, she was impossibly strong. Several people had charged at her only to be swept off their feet and thrown away like garbage. A quick jab of the hand disabled someone who had tried to sneak up on her. When a female tried to grab her hair, Prim used it to her advantage and took the opportunity to kick the offending Mage.

The snarl on her face said it all; she wasn't backing down.

Proper dodged, tried to hide, failed, and repeated the process. He wove through the punches and ducked under kicks. While he was proficient in avoiding getting hurt, he did almost nothing to contribute to the fight, aside from screaming, "Prim! It's okay! I'm not hurt or anything; you can stop fighting now!" over the din.

"No, no, no." Eve said again. "This won't do at _all._"

She caught a fist that had been aimed at Proper. "These people are my wards for the day. I wouldn't be a very good guide if they'd gotten themselves hurt, would I? I'm sorry; I have to ask you all to leave."

"Excuse me?" The fist Eve had caught suddenly grabbed the collar of her shirt. Suddenly she was glad the top button stayed strong. "You're trying to tell me what to do?"

Eve performed a back flip, escaping the older man's grip. "Since you've interfered with my business, I'm afraid so. It's against the law to assault someone without provocation, and I'm afraid no one is exempt from these rules regardless of social status." She gave what she hoped was a menacing smile. (Eve didn't smile much.) "And you do know what happens to those who break the rules… don't you?"

The Mage attempted to stare Eve down, but at last backed away. His posse followed.

"Witch." Came the last insult in a sea of muttering.

Prim and Proper popped out from behind her. "They don't like you all that much, do they?" Prim said slowly.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Probably what I usually do for a profession." This was a lie, it was more than that, Eve knew, but she wasn't really in a mood to explain her entire life story to these two. "It… isn't the most popular one. Have I told you about different professions yet? Of course not. Although there are tasks that can be requested and performed by Mages, most of us stick to a certain occupation to specialize in. Healing, guardian, instructor. The few odd jobs that don't fit into these categories are taken by floaters, like introducing new citizens to the academy." She nodded to the two in front of her. "As I said before, these professions are only performed for half the year."

"There is one exception." Eve said as she raised a finger. "It goes by many names; the Grim Reaper, the Executioner, the Death Bringer. These nicknames are all synonymous with the same thing: killing people. Not just that, however. The capture, or, if needed, the murder of anyone or anything that poses a threat to this Center's End falls under the responsibility of the Grim Reaper."

"Eh, that's not too hard." Prim said. "I could do that."

"Not Necessarily." Eve interrupted her. "In this village, death is _not_ taken lightly. The punishment for murder is, without question, execution. Even so, any criminals who have killed have to be thoroughly prosecuted before being executed themselves. The act of taking a life, they say, is one that stains you forever. Tainting you. Turning you unclean. Because of this, there is only ever one Grim Reaper at a time, if there is one. When someone becomes a Grim Reaper, they stay so until they die."

"Who is it?" Proper asked.

Eve gave a mirthless smirk.

"You're looking at her."

Proper made a sound akin to a dog's whimper.

"Wimp." Prim scoffed, as she elbowed the boy beside her.

**…**

Due to the… interruption the three encountered, Eve, Prim, and Proper quickly vacated the arena area of the academy. Eve decided to instead show the pair the rest of the facilities.

"These are the classrooms." Eve said, heading the conga line… thing that had formed behind her.

Proper was trailing behind her timidly, peeking into classrooms with a slight interest. He seemed to understand everything being taught; an impressive feat considering the classrooms he was being led past were teaching quite advanced subjects.

Still folded over his shoulder was Prim, facing the opposite direction of Proper. The boy was carrying her through the halls as if the odd endeavor was completely normal for the two. (For all Eve knew, it could have been.) Prim continuing to snarl and snap at Kain, who was tailing the other three at his insistence. (She evidentially didn't appreciate the flirtuous behavior Kain showed in public.)

And behind Kain was alllllll the _fangirls._ (Which were being duly ignored.)

"Any… ways… the general belief is that while everybody has a potential for magic, for a very large percentage of people, drawing out the ability to use it is very difficult. The reason this academy was originally built was to train mages, short for magicians. Attending here means you'll be given the opportunity to learn how to use and develop your latent powers, if you haven't done so already. However, this place also has high standards; if you don't excel at your studies, involving magic or not, you'll be expelled."

"What!" Proper yelped and stopped in his tracks. Even Prim stopped her yowling and paused to look at Eve.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Prim enquired.

"Do you know what MAGE academy stands for?" Seeing blank faces in front of her again, Eve made a mental note to stop asking questions her two wards obviously didn't know the answer to. "Magical And Genius Excel academy. The standards here are extremely high for a reason. Though everyone has magic potential, how many people do you think has the possibility to control it? Of all the people who apply each year to this place, only a small percentage are deemed worthy of actually attending. That's why you two will be taking an examination to gauge you control so far; to see if you can even attend the academy in the first place."

"Wait! What happens if we fail?" Proper looked as if he was on the edge of hyperventilation.

Eve shrugged. "Eh, most likely you'll become a farmer. The village needs people to produce food."

"And- and when is this test?" Came the nervous question.

"… when your paperwork files in. About two days."

That edge Proper had been teetering over?

He fell off.

"Wimp." Prim nudged the boy who was now lying on the floor in a gibbering, incoherent mess.

* * *

><p><strong>OKAY SERIOUSLY GUYS ABOUT THESE CAPITALS<strong>


	13. A New Start

**My chapters are getting steadily longer and longer! And steadily more unpopular! I wonder if there's a trend here!**

**Anyways, I have some important news (aside from the fact that I discovers how to turn off caps) that you should all listen to. **

**Like most rabid fangirls, I'm in high school. I'm also, in two weeks, about to experience the pleasure of writing my first ever exams. **

**So, for two weeks, this story is on hiatus. It's just as well; I haven't even written the chapters yet, haha.**

* * *

><p>There was a distinct reason why he and Prim had decided to come here.<p>

See, in the town they were raised in, magic was not common. There was very little known about it, other than the fact that it was dangerous and unpredictable, and when children were discovered to be able to do anything out of the norm… it didn't bode well for them.

No, they weren't killed. Even in the place of paranoia and prejudice they lived in, no one was hard hearted enough to end the life of someone who had done no wrong. Instead, at the slightest sign of magical ability, children are abandoned and forced to survive on their own. They are not harmed, and yet, the way everyone deemed it acceptable to treat them seemed a hundred times worse…

**…**

_"Freak!"_

_"Monster!"_

_"Go crawl back into the alley you came from!"_

_"Go cry back to your mommy! Oh wait, she threw you away! Ha!"_

_A little boy with scruffy clothes whimpered and curled into a ball, trying to make himself seem smaller than his thin frame really was. This was the third beating this week, and the group of kids surrounding him showed no signs of stopping._

_But still… He screamed in his head as a foot connected with his stomach._

Why did he have to be abandoned in the first place?

_A boot ground down on his leg and there was an audible crack, followed by laughter._

Why did he have to be cursed this way?

_Fingers curled around his neck and squeezed tight, then lifted him off the ground._

Why couldn't he make these ears disappear?

_Something pulled roughly at the pointed appendages situated at the top of his head. Before, having been slicked down close to his head, his cat ears were pulled out, and he could hear the taunts and jeers directed at him again._

Why…

_"Hey!"_

_"What's a stupid girl like you doing here? Get out!"_

_"Yeah? Then what a bunch of lousy, half-assed excuses for human beings doing here beating on some poor kid who didn't do nothing to you?"_

_"You're calling _us _half-assed?"_

_(Obviously no one in the conversation had yet to realize the "poor kid who didn't do nothing" was previously pick-pocketing the "bunch of lousy, half-assed excuses for human beings.")_

_The beaten child slit open his eyes, only to have them widen as he gasped. Standing in front of him, arms splayed out wide at her sides, stood a girl the complete opposite of him. Long white hair flowed down in front of him and the white, pointed ears of a cat perked up from the top of her head._

_The girl looked at him with cool, confident eyes._

_"Close your eyes and it'll be over quick, okay?" She said sweetly._

_He obeyed her commands and hid behind his closed eyelids and covered ears again._

_When the following sounds of pounding and yelled insults ceased, the child looked up to see the girl, still standing, and still unbeaten, yowling at the boys who had run away to nurse their wounds and their pride. Not one speck of dirt marred her white frock._

_"You can't hide behind her forever!" One of the boys called over his shoulder in retaliation to the many insults the whitenette was throwing at him, hissing in pain at a slash on his face. "We're gonna get you one day!"_

_When everyone else had gone, the girl knelt down to where the boy was laying._

_"Hi." Came the soft greeting. "I'm Prim. What's your name?"_

_The boy struggled to remember. What was his name, the one his forgotten mother gave him before he'd been dropped onto the streets to die? Was he even given one in the first place? Of all the people with magic, the ones who had animal attributes were always discovered the earliest._

_"I…" He choked out. "I don't… have one. I don't have a name."_

_Prim looked at him with wide eyes, her head cocked to the side with an air of curiosity._

_"Oh." She smiled, and reached out to pat the top of his head. "So you're like me then. In that case, why don't we stick together?"_

**_…_**

_In this way, they became partners, Prim and Proper._

_(Proper had chosen his name a few weeks after he had met Prim, after she'd teased him about his worn clothing, and he about her volatile behavior. "If I'm Prim but not proper, then you'd have to be Proper, but not Prim, wouldn't you?")_

_With Proper's unlucky tendencies to attract trouble, Prim shooed them away with strength far exceeding her small frame. Though she also had a hot temper and a habit for picking unnecessary fights, Proper was usually there to calm her down._

_The black-haired boy, on the other hand, had a talent for learning, and although he seemed quite a terrible fighter, he made up for it with intelligence that went beyond his age. He also was quite adept at stealing, which, both growing children knew, was immoral, was also needed for their survival. Not just food, but books were also "borrowed" by him, and were devoured with equal ferocity._

**_…_**

_"Are you sure this is going to work?"_

_"I'm sure I'm sure. I've check over everything hundreds of times. When we use it tomorrow, there's no way it'll fail." _

_Prim looked in awe of the cylindrical device in Proper's hands. Pieced together from bits of metal (stolen by Proper, of course) fashioned into gears and other odd bits, Proper believed the thing he had made would be able to open any lock. It was something only he understood, this complicated object he had created himself._

_They weren't going to break into anyone's home, of course; that'd be too risky, but at the very least, it'd help them break into the library of forbidden books she and Proper so desperately needed. Books of magic. Books that they both desperately needed to control themselves._

_Prim especially had started to notice the difficultly she had trying to repress herself. But lately, since reaching that awkward period of growing up, both teens had begun to realize their powers were blooming, though not necessarily in a good way._

_Proper had always been intelligent, getting through the day by surreptitiously lifting belongings out of others' pockets or buying and selling thriftily to those who would accept him. With the advancement of his smarts, new ideas were skyrocketing in his head everyday for inventions, things that he'd make out of metal or wood to try making their lives better. Although somewhat irritating, his habit of creating these things was harmless, sometimes beneficial._

_But for Prim… it'd become harder and harder to stop herself from hurting people. She'd always been violent, she knew that. At the first sign of trouble she was willing to throw as many punches as she needed to, break as many bones as she needed to, to ensure her, and later, with his addition, Proper's safety. However, as the super-human strength she used to protect herself and Proper grew, so were the disturbing urges she had, the animalistic instincts that told her not to scare away her prey, but to chase after it. As it was now, Proper was the only thing standing between her… and going too far._

_If what she usually did was beat mobs to a bloody pulp, Prim didn't want to know what "too far" was._

_"Don't worry." Noticing Prim's forlorn face, Proper had placed an awkward hand on her shoulder. Prim couldn't help but notice that he didn't need to reach up to do so anymore; when had he grown taller than her? "No matter what happens to us, we're sticking together, aren't we?"_

_Smiling, Prim put a hand over Proper's. He was right._

_In all of this, Prim and Proper had only each other._

**_…_**

_Winter cold stilled the air and Proper could see his breath, a silver cloud flowing out of his mouth. He was huddled under the window, Prim kneeling alongside him. Their ears were open, attentively listening to the shuffle and steps occurring inside the library. He and Prim had set a simple plan. He opens the window and finds the books they need. She looks out for coming people and carries the books out._

_When they heard the sounds that betrayed the presence of others die down, Proper took his pick pocketing device and pressed it against the lock on the window. The touch of a button and a series of whirrs and clicks later, there was a slight squeak as the glass panel swung open._

_"It worked!" Prim said in a whispered yell of joy. "Let's get inside, hurry!"_

_Prim grabbed hold of the edge of the open window frame and swung herself in, landing on the dusty floor below with a soft thump. After going in slowly, legs first, Proper jumped down the short distance with the aid of Prim. _

_Wasting no time, the two sifted through the room. These forbidden books were kept for the knowledge they held of counter-acting magic, but locked away due to the fact that they also held the secrets to they had of increasing power as well. Seldom looked at, much less moved, the room was covered in dust. Hardly anyone ever stepped foot in here._

_This fact did not stop Prim and Proper as they collect whatever they thought would be useful. Prim collected large tomes describing the methods of harnessing power and casting spells, and Proper small scrolls filled to the brim with pictures of humans possessing animal characteristics, some fascinating, some grotesque._

_Both stayed away from the history section._

_"Hey! What is vermin like you doing here? Get out!" _

_Proper spun on his heel to see a man pushing open the ornate doors that led inside the room, a shotgun clutched in one of his hands. He had caught them red-handed. Grabbing Prim by the arm, Proper tried to hoist Prim up towards the ceiling. "Go!" He yelled frantically. The man was taking aim with his gun. Prim slipped while trying to grasp the window edge, but successfully climbed through the window. Proper followed her, but as he struggled to lift himself up, there was a click and a bang, and then all he could hear was Prim screaming._

**_…_**

_"I'm sorry! It's all my foult!" Prim sobbed. "But… don't die, please! Proper…"_

_She'd failed. After years of keeping her promise to shield the boy before her, Proper was lying with his head on her lap and a gunshot wound to his shoulder._

_A hand slowly, gently, patted her shoulder. Barely conscious, the coal-haired boy still smiled, attempting to sooth her. "It's okay, I'm not gonna die." Blood dripped onto Prim's dress. "We only have each other, don't we?"_

_"Aw, how sweet." A bitter voice snarled. Prim looked up see she and Proper were surrounded by a gang, circled by a bunch of boys who all looked hauntingly familiar. The leader bore a scar on his cheek._

_"You." Prim said._

_"Me." The boy replied, while raising his foot up to rest above Proper's stomach. "And I'm afraid me and you have some business to take care of!"_

_A boot went crashing down on Proper, and Prim watched in horror as his body lurched upwards on impact. More blood flew out of his mouth as he reacted violently._

No.

_Prim silently begged as she watched that foot come bearing down on Proper again and again, right in front of her eyes._

Stop this.

_She screamed at herself to do something, but her body was frozen, and it wouldn't obey her._

This is horrible!

_And then her hand shot out and caught the offending leg, and Prim felt her whole self shake as the little bastard dared to laugh at her. "Oh look," he sneered disgustingly. "The wittle girl is crying."_

_Trembling arms tightened their grip as Prim opened her mouth. "Ah…"_

_The insufferable being before her tried to shake his leg free, but found her couldn't as Prim held on. "Eh? Let go, you bitch."_

_"Aha…" Prim refused to. Her mind shut down and all she feel was the immense hatred she had and the uncontrollable urges to _do something.

_"Ahahaha…" She could tell that her fingers were tightening, and that the boy was starting to panic and yell for help, and that the thin, weak limb in her hands was broken in several places. She might have even disconnect the foot from the rest of the leg. She could also sense the arrival of more people, as her gasps turned into cruel laughter and the din was attracting more and more people. Oh well. It didn't really matter anymore._

_"AHAHAHAHAHAHA."_

_Because all she cared about now was ripping them all to pieces._

**_…_**

Yes.

There was a distinct reason why he and Prim had decided to come here.

It wasn't because it was the first town they came across after leaving that horrible day.

And it certainly wasn't because Prim had ended up slaughtering everyone else in the town that day.

It was because even after he and Prim had left their old life behind, and after they succeeded in making their cat ears disappear through concentration and pure luck, actually learning how to harness and use magic…

That was the best for them both, wasn't it?

"Uh, hello? Are you still alive?"

"Oh don't worry about him too much. He get's like this sometimes."

Proper raised his head to see Prim looking down on him, the girl named Eve standing a bit farther off.

"Oh." He touched his head to see his ears had returned to that of a human form. "I'm fine now."

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><p><strong>Another flashbackorigin chapter! I hope you enjoyed it despite the fact that you just read one a few chapters ago...**


	14. Foreshadows and Implications

**With my exams finally finished, I now bring you chapter 14 of MAGE! Just an FYI, the next few chapters are going to be a bit uneventful... but it's all building up to the next arc! Prepare for serial killing and gore galore! Undertaker and Grell are due to make a reappearance soon! I hope!**

**If you're wondering why I have all these exclamation marks, it's because I've drunk waaaaaaaaay too much tea!**

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><p>The entrance exam she and Proper had to take was, to Prim, surprisingly easy. "It's not so much to see what knowledge you already have," Eve had told them, "as it is to measure your full potential."<p>

True to her word, the exam turned out being a series of teachers who tested them on their natural ability.

There was the middle-aged man with the grey, swept back hair that chatted with them for a half hour. (Prim wasn't entire sure what that was for.)

Next came a mousy guy who asked them to complete a series of problems as best they could. Prim went through half the booklet and thought she did quite well, considering the rest was a series of obscure numbers and symbols, but Proper ended up finished off the whole booklet. The teacher looked a bit baffled and re-adjusted his glasses several times while looking over his work.

And then there was that one instructor that stood out a bit; she was a reAnimus, like them, and had fluffy ears and sharp canines and a tail that Proper whispered to Prim looked just like a tiger's, an animal they had only seen pictures of in books. Not only was this, but everything about her was dark, from her skin to her hair to her clothes, with the exception of two haunting golden eyes, which looked at you as if… she didn't really care about you. She was a fighting instructor, she said, and told the two to fight them one on one.

Proper had gone first and Prim was surprised to see his hold his own, until Prim realized the tiger reAnimus was slowly becoming less slow and sluggish and more sharp and quick. She was gauging Proper's skill in this way; seeing how far he could go.

Naturally he didn't last long.

Prim went next, and she thought she did pretty well. But she lost too.

The instructor was about to leave when Prim was suddenly reminded by her dark clothing and indifferent attitude. "Oh, excuse me." The whitenette found herself blurting out. "But out of curiosity, have you ever taught a student named Evangeline Britford?"

"Oh." The teacher's calculating expression turned into one of deep thought as she recalled said student. "She was only my student for a year before she decided to learn combative fighting instead."

"If you mind me asking, who would win if you went up against her?"

"I would win in hand to hand and close combat. But let me tell you something." Something like respect appeared briefly on the teacher's face. "If any trickery or traps of any kind were involved, that girl could beat anyone. Be sure not to challenge her."

"!"

"You'd surely lose."

"Uh, okay…"

Yes, that teacher apparently had the eerie ability to instantly know people's personalities, too.

Not soon after, the man with the grey hair returned to tell them they had both passed.

"Go back to your guide to get your uniforms." He told them.

**…**

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick!_

_Why won't you work, dammit! Just what I get, wasting valuable metal on a watch I have absolutely no experience building!_

It was a start of another lazy day as the proprietor of an almost deserted shop. Faye had picked up a job at a bird shop and was to be gone the entire day. (Eve had baked a cake and needed to remind herself to bring it over later in the day to celebrate.) However this also left her completely alone in the desolate, depressed lower floor of the crappy place she called home.

Her business wasn't completely dead. Although there was a collection of weapon shops in the village, the majority of them catered to white Mages, and their pitch black counterparts don't usually look for wands, staffs, or musical instruments to serve them as Aces. And while there were a few other places that sold the necessary Aces for black Mages, apparently not enough, because every so often, someone came in looking to purchase one. However, these 'someone's usually came near the end of the warmer months, and were often those about to become freshmen. Nervous, terrified about their wits freshmen, who often looked like they were going to burst into tears.

And so, an elated greeting, "Hiiiiii!" Was not the next thing she was expecting to hear.

Looking upwards, Eve let the failure of a pocket watch hang from her hand, the chain tangled between her fingers. "Oh. It's you again. I take it you passed the examination."

"Yeah, and we had to find you again. Really hard, considering you never told us where you lived. We had to ask that old guy." Prim put her hand to her chin as she recalled the image of the man with the grey hair. His last name started with a B or something. "He was kinda surprised to find out you were our guide. But he still gave us your address so here we are. By the way, what kind of uniforms are we supposed to get?"

"Well, that depends," Eve stated as she put down the watch. "What sector did you join?"

"White."

"Um, black."

_So they're trying to fix their weaknesses. Good for them. _"In that case, there won't be much you have to do." Eve said.

"Huh?"

"There's no set uniform for Mages at the academy. Because applicants are chosen mainly by ability than by prosperity, having an incredibly expensive uniform everyone is required to be worn by everyone is out of the question. The minimum requirement is just that the majority you wear is black or white, defending on the side you chose."

_Huh. Listen to me. It's as if I'm giving advice to two people signing up to fight on opposite sides of a war._

Proper's ears suddenly twitched. "Excuse, but what is this?" He pointed to the watch.

"This? A failed attempt at building something that people wouldn't have bought anyways. I can't seem to make it work."

"Can I see?"

Eve handed over the watch.

The jet-haired boy surveyed the object in his hands. The first thing to leave his mouth surprised Eve. "Oh, this wouldn't be too hard to fix."

"What? Let me see. You know how to make it work?"

"You move this gear to the left and this one further down. The winding mechanism should connect better. If you do that it should work."

"No, you keep it. I probably know more about it than I do."

"Hey!" Prim popped in between the two with a smile on her face. "I've got an idea! How about a shopping trip? We need new clothes anyways."

"Well, have fun-"

"Wait!" Prim grabbed Eve's shoulders and prevented her from turning away. "We still need a guide," she pouted. "won't you help us?"

"Sorry, but I've gone up against other better puppy faces than that. But I have a business to run and no more obligation as a guide, so-"

"I'll pay you five gold pieces an hour."

"Done." Eve said suddenly. Five gold pieces by themselves were probably better than what she'd get from standing around alone all day.

**…**

"Are you sure Proper's doing alright by himself in another shop? Given his, erm, tendency to attract trouble, it doesn't seem like the best idea…"

"Don't be silly, it's not _that bad. _Besides, if someone tries to beat him up, he'll just scream for me. You act as if we're joined at the hip." Prim held up another dress, white and frilly with black accents, just like the rest of the others she'd considered.

"You _are _rather protective of him. And you seem to be determined to chase off any boy who attempts to talk to you."

"Because they're trying to separate us!" Prim declared, accentuating the point by stomping on the foot of a boy who tried to approach the two girls. "Sniveling bastards that flirt meaninglessly, that's that they are. Proper and I are staying together forever, and I will be damned if I'll let anyone come between us. That includes anyone who tries to go up to me and say 'who is this lovely lady' and all that crap."

"Huh. Sounds like Kain."

"Who?"

"Oh. He's the best healer in the village. He acts gentlemanly and suave in public, but if you ask me, he's probably a pervert or something on the inside. However, if you're choosing to become a white Mage, you won't have to put up with him much."

"Ah." Prim grinned. "Good."

"You two really are a perfect pair, aren't you?"

"Yes we are! Why do you ask?" A devilish smile appeared as Prim poked Eve in the ribs.

_Ow._

"Do _you _have a Mr. Perfect in your life?"

Somehow, Prim's question hurt more than her elbow as the sight of sandy blonde hair and the scent of lavender invaded her mind. "I used to. I don't anymore. It's nothing to talk about."

"Oh." The whitenette sensed the discomfort and tried changing the subject. "Well, you don't have to be so formal about. We're friends after all."

"Excuse me?" Eve nearly dropped the pile of dresses she'd been carrying at the time.

"You're mine and Proper's friend of course! It's the least we can do after you welcomed us and everything. Heck, look, everyone else here seems to avoid us, but here you are, helping us even more."

"… you're ignoring the fact that you're paying me?"

"…yes. Yes I am."

**…**

"Oh, Proper. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Proper looked down on himself, regarding a new outfits he and Prim had bought. ("Looks like you have a break from sewing." She'd said.)

"Just remember," Eve said. "Getting into the academy means you _are _given money to spend on necessities, given you need to settle in… but just make sure you don't spend it all in one place. You _do _need a home, after all."

"R-right"

"And be sure to stay out of trouble." Having helped the two and received her pay, Eve was turning to leave. "I don't want to have to break up another fight for you."

"Waaiiit." Prim said as they walked, suspicion creeping into her voice. "If you're supposed to be so tough and scary, then why didn't you help break up the fight sooner?"

"Oh, umm, I happen to have suffered near-fatal injuries a few days ago." Eve said.

"And she found it easier to let you do the dirty work than risk getting her side split open again."

"Exactly- wait WHAT." Eve jumped back. "Kain. How did you get there? What are you doing here?"

"I snuck up on you, of course. I was passing by the academy when I heard news of a fight breaking out. Seeing as you're usually the one instigating such incidents, I thought it necessary to drop by and check to make sure you didn't re-injure yourself too heavily. And who is lovely lady I see before me?" Kain said as he clasped Prim's hand and held it to his lips. "Are you new here?"

Eve saw a vein purse in her head and various parts of her face started to twitch. "Yes. These _two _were wanderers; they've enrolled recently in the academy."

"I'm Proper!" Proper screamed out of the blue as he suddenly jumped in-between Prim and Kain, his arms splayed out wide. He sounded as his he was screaming and being choked at the same time. "Nice to meet you…" He mumbled as his face started to go red.

The white-haired girl behind her popped her head from behind Proper's shoulder and draped her arm over it. "And I'm Prim. It's nice to get such a warm greeting… but if you kiss my hand like that and gross me out again," Prim's smile suddenly dropped and morphed into a snarl. "I will hurt you_._"

The two males deadpanned in horror as Eve regarded Prim with renewed respect.

_I like her._

"Ha. And now if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave. There's someone I have to pay a visit to."

**…**

"Faye! Over here please!"

Light blonde hair was flown back with the beat of a hawk's wings. "Coming!" Dragging a bag of bird feed half her size with her, Faye proceeded to shuffle to where the voice was coming from.

"I've got the bird feed, Mrs. Witte." The woman with brown hair and kind eyes smile as she effortlessly took the bag from her hands.

"Thank you, Faye. Now, I believe Christopher needs help with a new arrival. Hurry on to the rare birds sector, will you?"

"Aye, aye, captain!"

"Don't call me captain."

"Okay."

**…**

"So, this is a…?"

"It's a low-altitude phoenix." Christopher gripped his chocolate-brown fringe and scrutinized the nails on the box. "Can you hand me the…" Looking at the crowbar Faye held at the ready, he quickly forgot what he was going to say. "Crowbar. Thanks. My mother was right; hiring you _was _the best choice."

"Ha. I'm glad she was. There aren't a lot of people willing to take me on."

"Hmmm. Okay, put on these gloves."

"Are they fire-proof or something?"

"Yeah. Low-altitude phoenixes are the domesticated ones… but there's a reason why they're such rare birds. If not properly trained, they could have a tendency to accidentally stuff on fire."

"Oh, that's hurt."

"Yes. Yes it would. Gloves at the ready!"

"Ready!" Faye smiled.

Jamming the crowbar underneath the warm metal lid, (luckily the trader the bird shop had contacted was sensible enough not to use wood) Christophercarefully lifted the lid.

Fluttering into the air, the bird rose up and flew to land on Faye's outstretch and gloved hand. Faye gaped at the phoenix with interest. It wasn't like any bird she had seen before. It was glowing, literally _glowing_, as if deep inside it there was an unquenchable fire that shone through the fire bird's feathers. The feathers themselves were remarkable as well. Whether it was gold or copper, the plumage was, from head to taloned toe, all some glittering metallic hue.

"It's like it's made or precious metal," Faye observed in wonder. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It _is _composed of metal." Christopher replied knowingly. "Phoenixes are magical creatures that came to life through enchanted metal. They're very rare, and very, _very _sought after. We're incredibly lucky to have gotten one."

The bird had the shape that reminded Faye of a songbird, albeit a larger one with longer feathers. It sang a few melodic notes, like clinking glass, like it was agreeing to what Christopher had just said. As the phoenix did so, Faye swore she could feel the heat radiating from the creature increase. If was a pleasant, warming glow. Carefully opening the door to a spacious cage, as she had been trained to do so, she gently held her hand up to the rim of the doorway, inviting the bird in. With no complaint, it hopped inside, settling in immediately.

"Really friendly, isn't it?"

"Mmm. That's because it's a _low _-altitude phoenix. They've been living among humans for centuries; they're just as domesticated as a pet dog would be."

"Then what would a high-altitude one be like?"

"Oh, you wouldn't want to meet those at all. If the low-alt ones are like pets, than the high-alts would be like were-wolves. _Very _scary, with-"

Christopher's lecture was cut short when a ringing thump was heard by the two blonds. Both of them froze, eyes locked on the crate in the corner of the room. The sound had originated from there; it was obvious.

Silently sneaking over, both blondes bent their head over, and peered inside.

"Huh?"

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><p><strong>Review! Review! Review! Or I won't stop talking with exclamation marks!<strong>

**Cliffhanger!**


	15. Chi

**Edited from yesterday because I couldn't log in for some reason:**

**Sorry for the late update; it took me a while to try and access my account, and at that point in was on an iPad, on which it is impossible to edit chapters on. =.= So I'm putting in my A/Ns in now.**

**Sebassy-chan: (You reviewed on chapter 4 but I don't care because you're the first person to review in FOREVER) Yes! Someone got the reference! I'd put in more, but I don't watch YGOTAS very often, soooooo yeah.**

**I won't be taking another hiatus for a while, thankfully. I've got about three chapters stocked up.**

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><p>"Can we keep her? Pleaaaaaaaasseeee?"<p>

"_No. _Absolutely _not. _I bake a cake to celebrate you getting an actual job and this is what happens. Really..."

Eve had decided to visit the Wittes' bird shop only to find that Faye and Christopher had found… someone… in the same metal crate as the phoenix that had arrived earlier."

"You do know that a cake had no relation to what happened, right?"

"Be quiet you're not important to this conversation. I'll talk to you afterwards."

"Uh, yes… ma'am?"

"Call me Eve." Said girl named Eve turned towards her sister and pointed downwards towards the crate. "And for the last time, we're not keeping… _her._"

The "her" in question was huddled inside the metal box, refusing to talk, move, or even open her eyes. No more than seven years old, the tattered pink dress the child wore did little to hide the scratches on her legs, and the bite marks on her arms. She obviously wasn't in good condition, and possibly needed medical help. Despite this, all attempts Faye had made to coax her out had failed. Faye was now convincing Eve to let her take the child home.

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Please!"

"This conversation is going _nowhere, _you do realize that?Exactly what is this girl doing here?" Eve leaned in towards the crate and waved a hand in front of the kid's hand-covered face. "Hello? Are you alive? Can you move? What's your name?"

Much to everyone's surprise, the girl, upon hearing Eve's voice, stiffened, and then slowly, _very _slowly, lifted her face from her hands. "Chi…" Eve, Faye, and Christopher looked on unmoving as Chi kept on talking. "My name is Chi."

But her name wasn't what the others were concentration on.

_Wait-_

_-what with-_

_-her eyes?-_

_Her eyes are different._

_They're like mine._

Eve straightened herself and exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Faye." She said, trying not to let her voice tremble. "Take Chi to Kain as soon as you can. I'll meet you back at home later."

"Right. It's the end of the work day for me anyways; I can go now."

As Faye left the room with Chi, Christopher went to follow her, only to be stopped by Eve. "Wait." Eve said, causing the boy to pause before crossing the threshold. "I said I was going to talk to you, wasn't I?"

"Oh, right." Fumbling, Christopher sat himself back down. "Well, I guess I never introduced myself. I'm-"

"Christopher Witte, son of Helen Witte, owner of the Witte's Bird Emporium. Born April second, 1875. You're only a year older than my sister. Of course, you already know who I am."

"How did you-"

"The library has files on every citizen living in this village. They're restricted, of course, but given my part-time occupation, it's not that difficult for me to get a hold of them. Do you like Faye?"

The sudden question took the brunet aback. "Well, yes. She's nice."

Eve gave an apologetic but completely fake smile. "I'm sorry if I've scared you already. It's been a while since I've talked to a stranger; I'm afraid I've gotten unused to casually talking to other people. But don't worry; it's not as if I'm going to hurt you."

Christopher sighed in relief. He'd been worrying about the possibility of being _killed _since seeing the streak-haired girl knock on the emporium door.

"Just a bit of light threatening, is all."

"What!"

If the two had been drinking tea, this would have been the dramatic moment where Eve put down her cup and looked at the other sternly. As they weren't, she only looked. "I care a great deal about my sister. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a witch that brainwashed Faye into staying with me so I could use her blood for spells. Obviously, you and your mother know that, given that you let her work here. From the sounds of it, Faye likes you quite a lot. Nether the less," Eve's smile turned into a fang-bearing grin. "If you _ever _do _anything _to hurt her, illegal or not, you'll have the business end of my scythe to talk to. Understood?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

"Good boy." Before leaving, the girl got up and patted the Christopher's head. "And I told you, you can call me Eve."

**…**

"Well, isn't this curious." Kain peered into one eye, then the other. Red. Blue. Red. Blue. "And how did you get to be like this?"

"I…" The little girl looked down to avoid Kain's gaze. "I… uh…" Apparently extremely timid, she had not said more than a few words since first meeting the young man.

"Did you run away from home?"

Silence.

"Were you part of a horrific magical experiment and held captive by a witch or wizard?"

More silence.

Kain was getting somewhat impatient. Grabbing Chi's shoulders and looking straight into her bi-colored eyes, he asked as seriously as possible. "Were you sent here by a cruel master to scout out the location of his target in a selfish bid for your survival?"

"Ah…? Wha?" The child whimpered, and tried to shrink back.

"Oh, leave her alone." Eve said, appearing by the doorpost. "Not every female in the world can be subdued by your 'suave' charm. Just let me talk to her, she seems to respond better to me."

"Well," Somewhat indignant, Kain straightened himself. "I'd like to see-"

The healer was about to say something along the lines of "_you _do better with her," but couldn't because immediately before that, the little blonde who was seated on the table had practically knocked him over in the process of running over to the reaper at the door. As Chi clung to Eve, grabbing her legs as best she could, Kain gaped a little, just a little, while Eve shot him a look that said, _FAIL, Kain. FAIL._

"Well, ah." Eve said a little awkwardly, gingerly shying away from the child's surprisingly strong grip. "Why don't I take you home for now? We can talk away from the bid scary guy that probably molested you… or something." She stretched out a hand.

(No, she really hadn't improved at casual talk at all.) Nether the less, Chi nodded slightly and let Eve lead her out the door.

For once ignoring and refraining from retorting Eve's verbal barb, Kain decided to use the last seconds before Eve and Chi left to warn the former about something.

"Eve. The bites I treated on her arms?" He whispered, softly enough only she could hear him. "They came from a vampire. I'd be careful I was you."

Stopping just for the briefest of moments, Eve gave a slight twitch of a nod, and walked on.

**…**

"So what's your name?"

"Chi."

"Right. I uh, already asked you that."

Faye watched the awkward conversation carry on. In spite of Kain's, Christopher's and her own efforts, Chi only seemed to respond to her sister's questions. Seated opposite of Chi, Eve was now drilling the child with questions. Through five minutes straight of giving her older sister the best puppy-dog face she could muster, Faye had managed to convince her to let Chi stay _if _she was satisfied with the answers she got.

"So… how did you come here exactly?"

Chi shuddered softly, as if remembering something unpleasant. "I… Ever since I was born, I was forced to be with… bad people. Um, I tried running away one day, and I ran to this other town, but everyone there was frightened of my eyes so I had to leave. There was a crate, about to be shipped off, so I hid in it and got here. There was a really warm birdie in there with me, but it was friendly so I wasn't hurt or nothin'."

"Who were the people to ran away from?"

"Bad people." The little girl's voice was wavering as she started to curl up and her breathing suddenly became erratic and panicked. "Terrible people! They- they hurt me! I had to run away, but please don't make me go back! If I do, they'll-"

"Stop." Eve put a pale hand on the small head in front of her. Faye decided to speak up, knowing her sister wasn't that most comforting of people.

"We're not going to make you go back, okay?" The older blonde said in a soothing voice. "But if you want to _stay, _you have to answer some questions so we can get some paper-work filled out."

"Okay. Okay."

"Alright then, next question: what are you, exactly?"

"W-What?"

"Your eyes." Eve pointed to Chi's left eye, which was painted a devilish red. "Considering you only have _one _normal eye, that can mean two things. Either you're a vampire/human hybrid, or you're like me." Pulling back the hair that normally covered the right half of her face, Eve revealed her own red, slit-pupil eye to the girl. "And a vampire sealed one of your eyes."

The tension between the two stiffened as Chi's breath hitched. She looked down to avoid the two sisters' gaze.

"Can it see?" Eve asked. "Is it ruined like mine is?"

A hesitant, but hurried shake of the head came as a reply.

"You ran away before they could do the other one?"

A nod.

"Did you have any magic?"

Another hesitation. Eve stared, anxious to receive an answer. Finally, Chi nodded again.

"Alright. Well, cheer up." Eve said, getting up from her chair. "You can stay here."

"Really?" The two others said in unison, one more enthusiastic than the other.

Eve gave the sigh of someone defeated in an argument. "It can't be helped. If she's really the same way I am, then with me is the best place for her. We'll get some paperwork filled out for you, and see if we can't help you return your life to normal-"

"Thank you!" Came the joyful reply, as Chi wrapped her arms around Eve for the second time that day.

Eve patted Chi's head, a bit embarrassed, as Faye looked on and beamed.

**…**

"So you let her stay with you?"

Having still being in the process of healing from her horrible, painful injuries that often felt like she was getting cut in half, Eve had to visit Kain for a check-up to ensure there were no complications, lest something get infected and she started fainting and vomited blood, or something similar. It was actually quite a common occurrence; the need for check-ups, or course. She wasn't _that _weak.

Kain was replacing the linen strips bound across her middle when he asked his question.

"Yes, for the meantime." Eve answered. "No one else in going to take in a scared little girl with a red eye; I should know. Unless you…?"

"Ah, I don't think she is the best person to staying with me." Kain said, quickly enough to interrupt Eve and make himself look the tiniest bit suspicious. "In fact, I don't think she should stay with you either."

"And why is that?" Eve asked, slowly.

"She seems…untrustworthy." Kain answered, even slower.

The wounded girl scoffed at this. "Hah. Right." She retorted, a rare tone of arrogance in her voice. "Or maybe you were frustrated because she was the only girl you've ever met who didn't succumb to- OW! BITCH! Don't tie those bandages so tightly!"

In a moment of irritation, Kain had pulled the bandages sharply.

_That fucking hurt!_

The healer's voice was ever so slightly detached as he gave his apology. "Sorry. It'll stop hurting in a second. I thought you were used to this by now."

"Hmmph. You just took me by surprise there. Besides, I'm keeping an eye on her anyways. Didn't you say those bites on her arm came from a vampire? That's more than enough reason to track her. If best comes to best, the thing that held him captive will come here."

"My, so cold~" Kain said. The teasing lilt he usually had was back. "And you'll let it come so close to that poor little girl, who was surely traumatized by it?"

"… I'll kill when it does, of course! What kind of terrible person do you take me for? And what's a '~'? I don't even- OW!"

**…**

"So she let you stay with her?"

"… yes."

"Good girl. Your master will be pleased. Now keep following the plan and pursue the first target tonight."

"But so soon? Won't she get- ah!"

"Follow. The plan. Do you value your life or not?"

"Y-y-yes."

* * *

><p><strong>*SPOILER* People will die soon.<strong>

**Review or Sebastian will molest your cat.**


	16. Back in Business

**Let's start the chapter with some extremely badly written fluff, yay! You don't see her often so it's hard to tell, but Faye is a little emotionally unstable. Who can't be, after having the sister you love traumatized and your parents turn their back on her?**

**There's something about torturing my characters that I find ever so fun. Does that make me a bad person?**

* * *

><p>"So where is that little girl now?" Christopher asked Faye, who was feeding the phoenix scraps of metal.<p>

"Chi. And probably sleeping." The light blonde said, her smile growing wider as the fire bird affectionately rubbed it head beneath her hand. "She was really tired, so sis let her sleep in her bed."

"She seems rather nice to that stranger."

"I guess. Maybe because she thinks Chi will become a friend." Faye guessed as she perused row after row of cages for birds in need of food. "My sis does her best to get what she wants."

"But what do you want?" Christopher asked. He was somewhat curious about relationship Faye had with the mysterious 'grim reaper'.

Faye's hand, which was raised to pet another bird, dropped. She turned towards the boy, with a sad smile on her face. "What I want… can't ever be done."

"Why is that?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

A moment of hesitation followed. "Because I want my sis to be happy." Faye suddenly choked out. The mood swing came suddenly, violently, and Christopher stepped back as the girl knelt down and kept talking, as if to herself. "I course that's what I want! I love my sister! But she… she won't ever be happy. It's obvious no matter what happens, she. Won't. Ever. Be. Happy. Again. Hahaha. Never again. The best I can do is just stay with her… until it's all over."

Christopher kept walking backwards until his back met the door.

_She's gone crazy! _He thought to himself. _What am I supposed to do when someone loses their marbles in front of me?_

As if reading his mind, Faye quieted down to a few sniffles, and retorted uncharacteristically, "I'm not insane. I just needed someone other than my sister to listen to me, and I thought you'd be a good person to do so. I guess I was wrong."

_So when she hesitated…!_

"No! Wait!" The boy grabbed for Faye's wrist and stopped her from leaving. "It's okay. I'll listen. You can talk to me all you want." He said, even though his mind was screaming, _What am I doing talking to her I'm no good with girls aarrrrrghh._

"…Thank you."

The smile returned onto Faye's face, and Christopher blushed ever so slightly.

**…**

"So, you connect each needle to its corresponding nerve, and the glove attaches, see?"

"Right." Eve was looking over the blueprints for one of Proper's (apparently _many, _as she recently found out,) inventions. It was one of his newer designs, a glove designed for fighting that fit over and existing hand and had claws that protruded between the knuckles at will. She and the black cat reAnimus had struck a deal: Proper would design new Aces to be sold at Eve's shop, which she would then manufacture and sell.

"You're quite good at this." Eve said, regarding the pictures of wicked claws and metal scales with interest as she held them up to the light. "Better than me, anyways."

"Yeah, Proper's really confident when it comes to that kind of thing." Prim, who was nonchalantly sprawled on the desk.

"Uh huh." Eve said. "And… why exactly are you doing… on my desk?"

"I'm sooooo bored." Prim yawned, and then acrobatically leaped to swing from the lamp affixed on the ceiling. "Proper's got a job and my patrols are way too easy. And scarce. What am I supposed to do?"

"Earn some more money." Eve said, pointing out the obvious. "That fund you got when you entered the academy won't last forever, you know."

Eve would have gone on to lecture the two about how incredibly _difficult _it was to sustain yourself _by _yourself, especially given the fact that they had no connections to nobility, but was stopped by the telltale ringing of the bell that indicated when a customer came inside. "Hello." The streak-haired girl said in greeting. "How can I help you?"

The newcomer was young, as many people who were seeking out Aces were. His freckled face was incredibly pale, a usual trait of most people who walked through the front doors. He also had a look that screamed he was ready to run at any given time.

After helping him find what he wanted, a broad sword that was almost heavier than he was, Eve showed the boy out, who had a very relieved look on his face.

When he was gone, Proper spoke up. "There are so many different weapons, uh, Aces here. But I've seen people change them with magic. Why is that?"

"True, Mages can change the form of their Ace." Eve started to explain. "But it takes a great deal of learning before you can properly make it change. Even so, the more complicated you want to change something into, the harder it is. Sometimes it just takes less effort to shape the metal manually. That's where I come in. It takes a special kind of metal, nicknamed dark matter, to make an Ace. I run a business built on selling weapons I've made myself. They are all new as well. Unfortunately, when an Ace is shaped by magic, it can no longer be influenced by manual methods. It would just revert back into its original shape in a matter of time."

"Not the best business to get into, then?" Prim contemplated.

"Best _I _could get into." Eve murmured, too quietly for anyone to hear.

The comfortable silence was followed by yells of panic outside.

Eve, knowing what this usually meant, bolted out the door, towards the commotion. Prim and Proper, not knowing what else to do, tagged along.

The Grim Reaper was back in business.

**…**

The dead body was that of a teenage boy. It was a messy kill; multiple stab holes were present in the chest, stomach and face. Aside from having the build of a young man, the body was too disfigured, or perhaps just too drenched in blood, to give any other signs of identity or details of death.

"I just… I just found him that way." The girl who found the corpse was sobbing. "I was out just walking… and f-found him… oh, the blood, there's so much _blood_…"

Eve ignored her. The blubbering was quite annoying, and she wouldn't be of any help anyways. From the few coherent words the 'witness' could get out, and the state of the body, Eve could tell the body had been dead for a few hours.

_No one came up to say they had seen a murder… so there's only one person who's going to be of any use._

_Undertaker._

_…_

_Shit._

**…**

**A few days later…**

"Undertaker? Are you in there?" Eve grunted as she hauled herself through the trapdoor to the mortician's shop, only to hit her head once more on the coffin-shaped lid.

_Ow._

Instead of lounging on one of his many coffins, as he usually was when the reaper visited him, Undertaker was leaning over one of his 'guests'. It was, coincidentally, the exact one that Eve had come to see him about. Actually belonging to a family that didn't happen to have mafia connection, the boy, who had been the one found dead in an alleyway three days ago, had been brought to Undertaker's shop earlier by relatives, probably the mother or father. Now that he was cleaned up, and "made handsome again", as the creepy mortician called it, Eve was now ready to collect information on the murder.

That is, to pay for it.

_(Shit.)_

Looking upwards from his work, Undertaker peered at Eve with hidden eyes. "Ah, welcome, my lady!" He greeted with delight. "Have you come to talk about my latest guest?"

Eve looked at the pine box at her feet, a coffin for the lifeless boy inside.

She looked back at Undertaker, with his eerie, ever-present smile.

Back at the coffin with the dead, murdered body in it.

Back at Undertaker.

"Oh, nooooooo." The reaper replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I came all the way here to steal cookies- of course I'm bloody well here for the body!" She snapped viciously.

At this display of frustration, the mortician sniggered. "Not in a very good mood, I see."

"No, I'm not." Eve complained. "I'm starving, I have loads of paperwork to fill out, I've got another mouth to feed, and my sister is working- which means I'm going to waste who knows how long trying to make you _laugh. _And goodness knows I'm _excellent _at telling _jokes._"

"Ha! Ye better get started, then!"

**...**

"BWAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHA! AHAHA!" Undertaker was clutching his middle, rolling around on top of one of his coffins. "To think my lady would do even _that_- hahaha! What a joy, to experience such a laugh!"

"Ughgghghhh." Eve groaned incoherently, her strength having been taxed in the last hour and a half. "Will _that _do?"

"But of coooouuuurse, my lady." Undertaker giggled, having recovered from his hysterical laughter. "Anything for you, now that you've provided payment. What would you like to know?"

"Cause of death, details, and any belongings on the body." Eve listed off.

"Alriiiight, but you'd better sit down." Undertaker mused. "This will take a while."

When Eve found a seat, (she really didn't want to think about on what), Undertaker continued. "Even though I've seen plenty of bloody murders in the time I've been in this business, this one is especially peculiar. See, only one murder weapon was used."

"What was it?"

"A dagger, about yay long." Undertaker said, miming out the length with his fingers. "It was used multiple times…"

"Obviously."

"Even after the boy had died."

"?"

_But that kind of murder doesn't happen… at least it doesn't in this village._

"Whoever did it made it look like that deliberately?" Eve asked, referring to the excess amount of blood that had been involved.

"In other words, yes." Undertaker leaned back and clapped his hands. "It was quite fun, making him look like normal again. It isn't everyday a guest comes in looking like that."

"It isn't everyday a murder causes this much panic. Innocent boys aren't usually killed." Eve grumbled. "I don't think the blood helped either."

"Seems like they did that bit on purpose to me. And I found this on the poor chap as well." Reaching into one of his oversized sleeves, Eve watched as Undertaker rummaged around a bit, but leapt back as he suddenly and haphazardly withdrew a sword. "A sword, isn't that nice! Even with it though, he couldn't defend himself from what happened."

"Let me see that." Eve said, taking the weapon from the mortician.

"Oh? Are you familiar with it?"

"Yes." Eve put down the sword. "It used to be mine. I sold it to this boy… he was a customer."

"So you didn't realize that even _after _I cleaned him up? Haha…" Undertaker was starting to giggle again.

"Oh, shut up; it's not like I can remember the face of everyone who walks into my store, even if they're few and far in-between." Eve got up to leave. "I have more important things to worry about. Well, thank you for the business."

"Anytime, my lady! But I also have a warning for you, free or charge."

Eve paused. "What?"

"I'd be careful of someone close-by, if I were you." Undertaker said cryptically. "No one is truly as they seem."

This was not new to Eve. "Don't you know?" She said, before closing the trapdoor in on herself. "I _surround _myself with suspicious people."

When Eve had disappeared from sight, the mortician smiled. "Interesting. What an odd creature you are, Lady Britford." Undertaker said before his words dissolved into meaningless laughter again.

* * *

><p><strong>More Undertaker YES. He is so my favorite character.<strong>


	17. Don't Touch Me

**If I were a better writer, I'd put more bonding moments in between Chi and the sisters. As I'm not, just imagine the three getting really close, m'kay?**

**There miiiiight not be a chapter next week because I've run out. And I'm entering a few contests so I need to write my entries instead.**

* * *

><p>"New rules, the two of you." Eve announced that day at dinner. "Considering the various screams of horror you've probably heard by now… there's a killer on the loose." The eldest of the three looked sternly at her two wards. "So you're going to have to take safety measures."<p>

Eve turned to Faye.

"Faye, ask Mrs. Witte if you can extend your working hours, and if you can take Chi with you. I'm not going to be home too often what with the investigation going on, so it's best if you two aren't alone in here. This house especially might get targeted."

"Right."

"Chi, if Faye is allowed to take you with her to the bird emporium, behave as best as you can. Though newcomers in this village are welcome, it's better that you don't cause trouble of any kind."

"Okay."

"Don't worry, Chi." Faye patted Chi's hair ever so softly. "You'll be fine with us, we won't hurt you. And remember, when you're ready to talk about whatever happened to you, my sister's the absolute best person you can go to, m'kay?"

"No guarantees." Eve murmured, but her eyes did soften the slightest bit.

**…**

"If one dead body was enough to cause that much commotion, I wonder what a few more will do? I think perhaps five or so would definitely get things going…"

"Haven't we tortured her enough?"

"Hmmph. Not nearly. Didn't your master say to drive her to the brink of insanity before bringing her to him? A bit of stress from a mere _job _isn't going to cut it. Go out and murder a few more tonight, will you? This time let's let some people see us. We'll proceed with the next bit soon."

"Yes."

"You've been accepted into the 'family', correct?"

"They treat me like I'm one of them. They're _nice._"

"Good. No one suspects you."

**…**

Though taking a midnight stroll was usually a relaxing idea, Eve had long since stopped thinking so given the macabre and morbid reasons she often went out this time of day. Visiting the scene where a dead body was found is never a pleasant thing to do. However, as the village's Grim Reaper, and the one in charge of investigating murders and several other illegal activities, it was something Eve found herself regularly doing.

_It's so quiet at this time. _Eve couldn't help but think to herself, hearing nothing but the clicks of her own leather boots tapping against the stone paved road. She was alone, save for the few strangers that hurried to and fro between buildings, either people performing last minute errands, or Mages who were performing patrols. _In this lighting, you'd think it was almost like those streets and towns you'd see in a seer's vision._

Indeed, if you took away the damage that many of the poorer houses had inflicted upon them, in some scuffle involving mutant bats and what not, and shined the windows of all the shops, and reduced the glamour of the homes of several of the richer families, Center's end was much like the quaint collection of streets and shops that seers alone had the power to look at.

_The old man who sells canes, that young boy I saw all those years ago with his mother… I wonder if they have to deal with the same crimes we do. _Eve pondered as she rounded the corner to where the body had been found.

Very quickly, the first thing that became obvious was the blood. It was _everywhere, _splashed against the stone walls of two adjacent building, pooled on the floor in red, sticky, lakes. Dried in some places and congealed in others, it still stank of rust and death.

But two years ago the smell would have made her retch, but now Eve was quite used to gory sights such as these. Leaning close to the ground, she scrutinized the scene.

_Different spots on the wall with blood dripping down on them. Someone made this intentionally bloody._

_The murder weapon is here, covered in blood. Undertaker was right, it's a small dagger._

_There's a feather on the ground, also with red stains on it._

_I should write this down. _

After racking her brain and think about the evidence, and carefully examining the dagger that took the victim's life, still in her hand, a realization dawned on Eve that made her blood run a little cold.

She hoped very hard that she was wrong.

_Someone is trying to frame me and they will kill again to do it._

"RAAAAAAAAGH!" The scream ripped through the stony silence and Eve positively froze.

_Oh no…_

Dropping the dagger she was holding, Eve ran in the direction of the scream, willing her Ace to appear simultaneously. Skidding to a halt, the reaper paled and nearly dropped her scythe.

"No, no no no no…" Prim sobbing, clutching Proper's head to her chest.

Deep lacerations covered the cat-eared boy, and though unconscious, his face was still contorted in pain. Prim sobbed something about not being able to protect him, about failing, but Eve attention was further drawn to Proper's injuries. Along with a slit across his throat and slashes across his chest that _poured _blood, Proper's thin arms were wrapped in thinner wires; the weapon that had, once again, been left at the scene of the crime. They had been tightened around the flesh, and red droplets lined the black metal. On the end of his left arm, Eve knew that the wire had been tightened viciously…

Because, not three feet away, lay Proper's left hand, still clutching the very pocket-watch she had given her.

**…**

_Damn._

**…**

_It._

**...**

_To._

**…**

_HELL._

**…**

_"Five."_

"Five _fucking _dead bodies in _three fucking _days."

"It's not enough for one person to die, nooooo. There have been six attacks and five deaths, and only one survivor. The witnesses are due to testify soon, but there's _nothing _that can help me out."

Kain wiped his gloved hands free of blood, and tutted. "You should let yourself become so stressed, your wounds will get worse." Eve hissed as the healer applied something to her arm that stung ferociously, before wrapping up the last of her bandages.

Eve sighed and rolled her sleeve back up. "How is Proper, by the way? Out of his coma yet?" She asked, while hopping down from the desk she was sitting on and rolling around her wrist.

"He woke up yesterday and went home with Prim. His injuries will heal, but he's lost that hand."

"Better than dying I suppose… you can be happy, be sad, blissful or in eternal torment, but when you die everything ends for good."

**…**

Over the past few days, Eve found it necessary to visit Undertaker much more often than usual.

After the third body, Eve had given up on prying information the laugh-addicted man. The pattern was always the same; the victim was always one of Eve's former customers, the murder weapon was always something stolen from Eve's shop (in the dead of night when she could never seem to catch the perpatrator), and each murder was bloodier than the last.

Despite this, the reaper was still required to do business with the mortician; as two of the bodies were not claimed by family members or friends of any kind, they fell into Eve's jurisdiction, making her the one responsible for their preparation into the next life.

"Helloooooo~" Undertaker smiled as usual. "You're looking quite hungry, my lady. Are you sure you don't want a cookie or two? A cup of tea?"

"No, I'm just dropping off your payment for the last two bodies." Eve said bluntly, chucking a bag filled with gold at Undertaker. "Honestly I'm surprised you took actual _currency _for these services. I thought the price for a funeral was going to be an entire stand-up comedy show."

"Ah, while blissful laughter is my preferred method of payment, I'm afraid that the proprietors of my supplies think otherwise. I'm a businessman first and a mortician second, you see~!" He caught the bag with ease, throwing it into the air with a smile on his face as he tucked it into one of the many folds of his robes.

Eve shrugged. "Whatever. I suppose I'll be taking my leave."

"Happy to heeeelllpp!" Undertaker waved childishly. "And take heed of my warning, will you? It wouldn't be too… amusing to have to work the stiffness out or _your _bones, let me tell you!" He guffawed at his own grand joke, which was probably a dig at the other's serious demeanor.

"Haha." Eve grunted. "Very _funny._"

**…**

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so so sorry…"

"There's no need to apologize. It wasn't your fault!"

Proper had survived his attack. After receiving emergency treatment from Kain, he was quickly deemed healthy enough to return home, a small brick building he shared with Prim. According to Eve, he was alive, but he alone seemed to be so after being targeted by the mystery killer.

He liked to think it was because of Prim he survived. After all, none of the other victims had anyone else accompanying them, had they? If his partner hadn't been by his side the entire time, he would have definitely had died. However, this didn't stop Prim's constant apologies for the wounds he _did _suffer. Namely the deep cuts across his arms that opened and bled profusely whenever he moved them. And namely, his hand. His left hand, which was unfortunately, was the steadier one of the two he had.

Kain said, try that he might have, no amount of needle and thread, or herbs and tonics, would be able to reattach Proper's hand. He would never be able to use it again. The best he could be, the healer had said apologetically, was sew the wound shut.

It was for this reason that Prim was _still _saying sorry, and Proper was weakly denying the fact that she had any fault in the matter.

_At the very least, _he thought to himself, _I still have the pocket watch Eve gave me. _It was the first thing he'd ever received from a friend that wasn't Prim, of course it was important to the two of them.

Contemplating the cool metal face of the clock as he turned in over in his right hand, Proper suddenly experience a jolt as an earlier conversation he had with Eve came to his mind.

"Prim!" He said suddenly, knocking the whitenette out of his stupor. "Can you bring me that sheet of paper over there? The one I was looking at earlier?"

**…**

"Tough time at work?" Kain asked the young woman walking beside him.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Eve complained. "I should be getting a few witness statements soon, but even if anyone actually saw what happened, there's not too much to go off of. Still, I have an idea what this killer is trying to do, and it's not. Fun. Investigation is _not _my forte. Neither, for that matter, is escorting. Why am I with you again? It _chilly, _and I've always hated the cold. And dark." True to her words, night was falling, and a definite coldness had settled into the still air.

Kain chuckled mirthfully, having managed to drag Eve with him on a trip to shop for supplies, and then make her carry all the bags on the way back. "It's part of our deal. In paragraph two, line three, it decrees that should I need to leave my home for whatever reason for more than an hour, than you are to escort me there, protect me from hoards of rabid fan-girls constantly hounding me, and carry any bags I may procure along the way."

"I don't remember there _ever _being a contract."

"There was one in my head."

"And I suppose I _signed _it in your head as well."

"Yes, as a matter of fact you did. In your own blood too."

"Don't talk about my blood please. You know how I get-" Eve stopped short, falling silent and still with the bags clutched in her hands.

"Eve?" Kain cocked his head to look at the shorter one. "What's wrong?" But then he too ceased talking, as he looked in the same direction as Eve was and understood.

Jake Hunter was standing not ten feet away, firmly planted as if rooted to the spot.

Eve dropped everything she was holding and walked briskly forward, determined to pass her former fiancé by without acknowledging him. "Kain, I'm going home." She said gruffly, not bothering to turn back. She knew what Jake was here for, and she didn't want to go through it again.

Unfortunately for plans of lying on her bed and falling into a restless sleep were not to be, as Jake's arm shot out and grabbed her hand when she passed. _He's gotten stronger. _Eve noticed, noting the squeezing grip that she knew she wouldn't be able to merely shake off. Turning halfway between Kain and Jake, but meeting the eyes of neither, Eve tugged her right arm. Like she thought, Jake's hold did not become any looser.

"Wait." Came the apologetic tone, something the girl found herself quite sick of. "Please."

"Don't touch me." Eve's reply was cold and steely.

"I just need to talk to you! Just for a moment!"

"Don't touch me."

"You don't understand! You have to-"

"_Do not touch me!_" The girl suddenly snarled, almost screamed. The bad memories were coming back, flooding into Eve's head like a torrent escaping from a dam. The last time Jake had smiled at her. The first time he had turned away. Everything she had wanted to forget, had pushed into the corners of her mind, shoved back, and drowned her. _"Do not touch me!" _Everything in front of her eye blurred and without realizing it, Eve fell to her knees. Was she still yelling? Was that her she was seeing? Or was that Kain, who had run over in an attempt to calm her down? He _was _the only one capable of doing that, after all.

_ Not again. _Was her last thought before the winding play of painful memories flooded her, and suffocated her.

**…..**

At Jake's stubborn insistence, he was now prowling up and down the length of Kain's apothecary, clenching his fists and muttering to himself. "What _was _that?" He exclaimed out loud this time. "I didn't know-"

"_That._" Kain growled through grit teeth, leaning forward from a chair that was seated next to the passed out Eve, "Was a panic attack."

Confused, Jake's feet stopped their mindless pacing as he looked at the healer. "Panic attack? She's never had that problem before."

"She didn't." Kain said simply. He crossed a leg over the over, regarding the blonde with disapproval. "Until almost three years ago. Might I add she only suffers from them when she sees you?"

It was obvious what Kain was implying. "They're my fault?" He asked, incredulous.

"Yes. In fact, her and her sister," The taller man continued, "were much more affected by the incident then they let on. They've developed psychiatric problems; I doubt either of them will be completely normal again. Eve especially is worse off."

"It _has _been a while since I've seen her like this, however." Turning his head to look almost tenderly at Eve, his eyes softened a tiny bit. "I suppose it's due to the amount of stress she's been carrying the last few days, considering the serial murders. Which, by the way, I believe she suspects you and her family for causing." He added offhandedly.

The sudden accusation caused Jake's eyes to widen and temper to rise. "Now wait, that's completely uncalled for-"

"Is it?" Kain stood, and Jake had to tilt his head up to keep eye contact. "You and the rest of the Britfords have already given several tries already to convince Eve to return to her family- quite honestly, there's no reason for us to think that this is simply another one. You thought it would have been easy, didn't you? Commit a few serious murders, get the villagers into a panic, frame Eve and cause her to bend from pressure. And when she finally needed help, you'd give it to her… in exchange for returning to her parents and withdrawing her statements about them."

"Look." Jake said, steeling his voice so it wouldn't tremble or crack. "Yes, I regret what I did to Eve, and yes, I want her to come back more than anything in the world, but what makes you think I'd arrange for innocent people to _die?_ That's just going too far, as if anyone could do that!"

Stepping forward, Kain started to appear more menacing with each step. Was it his imagination, or did Jake see Kain's eyes flash red? And his shadow grow taller, even with the candlelight stretching it? "_I _wouldn't be so sure. Humans will do whatever it takes to get what they want, even at the expense of others."

Kain had caused Jake to back up into the wall, a door, before suddenly walking back a bit to give him space. "If I were you, I'd stay away from Eve. Permanently, this time. Murderer or not, I can give a good guess that she will depart your head from your body the next time she sees you."

The blonde obeyed, but not without a dirty look and the though, _I swear, I _will _make peace with you one day, Eve. Even if I get myself killed doing it._

_I love you._

* * *

><p><strong>Oh sure, that's not creepy at all. *sarcasm*<strong>

**I could ask all I wanted to ask readers to review, but they never do so :/ why bother?**


	18. That Mask

**This chapter's a little short than most, given that a lot of my time was spent writing entries for a writing contest. On the bright side, I have another gloriously dark short story written and posted over at my Fictionpress account! Check it out if you like dying vampires!**

* * *

><p>"I don't see why you're so upset. You haven't had an attack for months." Kain told an unhappy Eve when she had woken up.<p>

"But I had another one, all the same." The reaper hissed. "It was _weakness._"

Apparently slightly weak upon coming to, Eve was drowsy for a few moments but still insisted on leaving straight for home. She had witnesses to interrogate, after all.

Kain gave a small smirk and countered, "But humans aren't perfect, are they? They also have bad points one way or another. That why you have me."

"Right, right," The girl muttered, and she slid herself to the ground. "That's why I have you."

**…**

Because serial killing happened to be a crime under her jurisdiction, Eve was the only one questioning the witnesses. However, the people themselves were brought to her by the nobles, who acted as the police of the village. There was a very uncomfortable silence as Eve stalked past her parents into her home. She didn't say a word. Slipping into a seat, Faye wordlessly handed Eve a stack of papers.

The few witnesses that Eve had to interrogate said very little, but all gave the same description of the killer. There were reports of a long black cloak, a feathered mask, and wings. Those who managed to see past the mask saw two eyes, one brown… one red. With each person confirming what they saw, Eve sunk a little closer in her seat. All victims were once her customers.

All sightings pointed straight to her.

At last Eve finished with the final person and she saw her father stand up. She stiffened. This only happened when a prime suspect was put on probation.

Alexander opened his mouth.

"Wait!" Chi was fleeting up the stairs at almost inhuman speed, pushing back Faye and stopping in front of Alexander. "I think I know who the killer is!"

**…**

"I thought I told you to stay upstairs."

"I'm sorry. I just have to say this."

Everyone save for Alexander had gone home. Chi was seated in a chair opposite Eve. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have run away. He's… he's going to-"

"So you think your master is trying to take you back?" Eve interrupted suddenly. Chi nodded.

"If anyone is going to be punished, it should be me."

Despite this, Alexander cleared his throat and spoke with a conviction. "Regardless-" Only to be cut short, once again by Eve.

"She has a point, but you can't convict anyone, especially a child, of that regardless. I'll be the one to take care of this."

"You should be." The grey-haired man said a little roughly. "Because regardless, I still must announce you as the prime suspect in these crimes."

Eve's lip curled down as she waited for the verdict.

"You have a week to find the killer before you are executed."

**…**

"That's just unfair!" Now that the three were alone once more, the indignities that Faye had been holding back exploded out of her mouth. "How can they do that?"

"That's simply how it works." Eve said a little quietly. "I'm the prime suspect. I have a week to live. Unless, of course, I find the real culprit. It's probably another ploy to get us to return to the family."

"I'm aware of that." Faye pouted. "But they've never gone that far before."

Chi, whose head was flipping between the two sisters like a light switch, raised her hand timidly. "Excuse me." She asked. "But who's 'they'?"

"Our family." The two chorused, one voice singing more bitterly than the other.

Eve went on. "Before I left the rest of the family, my full title was the duchess Evangeline Sonata Britford. The Britfords are well known as the most prestigious family here. Having not one, but two children from the same family 'disowned'… well, it doesn't do well for their reputation. They want us back. Or, at least," Eve flicked her head towards Faye here, "they want my sister back. They want _me _to admit I'm a lunatic kidnapper."

She changed the subject. "Your staying here isn't actually helping me, you know. Exactly what makes you think your former master has anything to do with this?"

The little girl's face crumpled and she broke. "Because I found something!"

Everyone froze and Chi started trembling, gripping the hem of her dress, which Eve noticed had been replaced by Faye. "I-I wasn't sure. It was really well hidden; I just stumbled on it a few days ago. I thought it was just something someone lost, but when I found out it was the same one that the witnesses had been seeing… you can't be the killer! It's impossible! But the murders only starting happening when I came here…"

"Bring it here." Eve was surprised to hear Faye speak so assertively.

Chi nodded, and dashed off in the hall. She came back with something pitch-black in her small hands.

Eve took the thing in her hands, running her fingers over the almost gossamer material. Black feathers melded together leaving only two spaces for the eyes. Eve examined one of them. Suddenly, her muscles relaxed, just a bit. She sighed, and brushed the hair from her closed-eyed face, and let it fall back, over her red eye. "Get some sleep." She said finally. "I have someone to visit in the morning."

**…**

_This place is nicer than mine. _Eve couldn't help but think as she looked up from the doorstep. But then again, that was natural; from what she heard, Prim and Proper were doing quite well at the academy.

Or rather, Proper _was. _Eve assumed he was probably on leave now. Maybe permanently.

_Stop thinking about that, stop thinking about that. _She chided herself. _If I don't confirm this, I'll have more to worry about than losing a hand._

She knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Prim, eyes uncharacteristically red and puffy, opened it.

To her immense surprise a smile lit up on the whitenette's face and she opened the door even wider, instead of slamming it in Eve's face like she'd been expecting. "Eve, hi! Did you come to visit Proper? Hurry up and come on in." With absolutely no say with the matter, Eve was ushered through the door. Prim was still smiling, and she was beginning to feel slightly paranoid. Was it real or not? Was Prim planning something?

She was led to a well furnished room with a smoldering fire, and a pale, weak-looking, black-haired boy sitting in a chair. Proper, noticing her, waved his right hand at her, and smiled faintly. "Hi." He greeted, as if something like this was completely normal.

Eve inhaled sharply, and then ducked down into a very low bow.

"I sorry." She blurted out. "This was my fault. I-"

"Oi, what are you doing?" Prim gripped the raven/red- haired girl and promptly folded her back into an upright standing position. "No way it could have been your fault! You weren't the one who attacked Proper, were you? Because I'm pretty sure you were the one- and only one- who actually came to help when he went down." Her electric blue eyes softened. "There's nothing to apologize for."

Eve looked at Prim.

Then she looked at Proper, and where his left hand used to be, hidden by a blanket.

Then back at Prim.

"You don't… blame me?" It had never occurred to Eve that this would happen.

The two young mages looked at each other, and shook their heads in unison. Apparently Eve's reaction hadn't crossed their minds either.

Eve blinked. "Oh." She muttered, hanging her head down in embarrassment.

Proper spoke up. "It's not that bad." He spoke softly. "At the very least, I figured out what I wanted for an Ace." As he raised his left arm, Eve realized what he was talking about.

Replacing the spot where his hand had once been now was a gauntlet, made of the same pitch-black material Eve recognized to be the universal metal for all black Mage Aces. Layered in spiky plates, the fingers flexed smoothly. When they clenched tightly, thin claws like those of a cat protruded from between the knuckles.

"It's going to take a little getting used to, but soon enough, I'll be able to use it like normal! Kinda like I never had my hand chopped off, haha."

Something had been so utterly lost, and yet he had found a way to regain it so quickly…?

"That's good." The reaper said, a little less evenly than the norm. Something about interacting with these two somehow made her feel… at ease. Sometimes too much. "Anyways, there was something else I came here for."

She took the mask out from behind her back, the one that Chi had found, and handed it to Proper. "This mask." She said. "Do you remember this from anywhere?"

Proper took the mask with his good hand. He held it at arm's length, regarding it analytically. "Yes." He finally responded. "That's the mask of the person who attacked me."

Eve exhaled and almost collapsed. "Thank goodness." She muttered under her breath.

Both of the others became confused. It didn't help when Eve took the mass of black feathers back and turned to exit. "Thank you for your help."

"Wait!" Prim grabbed Eve's arm before she could go. "What are you talking about?"

**…**

"And so I told them it wasn't me." Eve finished simply.

"Oh?" Kain inquired with a raised eyebrow and he tightened the linen around her stomach. "And how could you prove that?"

"Hello?" Eve almost spat. "Fucking _metal wings. _How else?" She gestured to flying appendages attached to her back, which she managed to materialize after much concentration and pain. "Whoever is doing this is trying to frame me by impersonation. They know how I look…. But they don't know about the wings. Of course, that means I can rule _you_ out as a suspect."

Kain adopted a look of pouty innocence. Frustratingly, it fit his face well. "Little old me? A suspect? How could you think that?"

"Don't be flattered; half of the village was a suspect at one point." Eve snorted. "Besides, I was only kidding. I'm pretty sure I know who it might be now."

* * *

><p><strong>I believe the next chapter will bring about the end of this arc. Look out for an extra long chapter! Or something.<strong>


	19. Never Again

**This. Is my. Longest. Chapter yet. It also marks the end of this arc, which I'm ashamed to say I rushed a bit. If I were a better writer, it wouldn't be so.**

**But right now you're dealing with the stuff of a fourteen-year-old fangirl, so don't like, don't read. :P**

* * *

><p><em>Oh…. This is going to be harder than I thought it would be. <em>

Eve groaned and rolled over in her chair, stopping in an awkward position where her back was to the front desk and her head was lolled over the book situated on top of it. She'd just compared the names of all the victims and everyone who had entered the shop since the season started, and the results weren't good.

_The easiest way to do this is to catch the culprit in the act, right? _She interrogated herself. _But if all of the victims were people who bought something from me since the season started…then there's no one left._

_The culprit's already killed them all. Damn, she's fast…_

_No, it's _probably _her. I can't be sure. For now, I have to concentrate on thinking of another plan. There's the option of waiting for someone else to buy something, but what's the possibility of that? My business is ruined; no one's coming here again._

_This isn't going to end well for me, no matter what happens._

The ringing of a bell, which signified that someone had come inside, drew Eve's attention away from her pondering. She looked up and froze.

_Shit._

Faye and Chi were gone for the day. Kain wasn't here. Neither were Prim or Proper.

She was all alone.

_Shit!_

Walking over to the desk, and setting a chain and lock set on the smooth wood, Jake Hunter asked. "Excuse me. How much is this?"

A brown eye locked with two sea-green ones.

And then Eve _lunged, _grabbing Jake's neck and jumping onto the desk scattering papers. She shoved Jake into the wall, her face contorted into a snarl. "_Why._" She said accusingly. "Why do you _insist _on constantly forcing yourself back into my life? Did the last two years serve nothing as a warning?"

Perfectly aware that she could kill him on the spot, though not without repercussions, the blonde raised his arms in submission."Now hear me out. This could play well for the both of us." When he was let go, he continued. "The easiest way for you to find the killer is find a would-be victim, isn't it?"

"How do you know this."

"I'm still a noble, in case you've forgotten. I have access to things."

"Of course."

"So let me purchase this. You'll have your bait, you can catch the killer, and you can avoid execution."

"… How long have you known about the last bit?"

"Longer than you."

"… I see. And what's in it for you?"

"Uh… a less guilty conscious?"

Eve stepped back and looked at Jake with distain. "I don't buy it." Jake looked forlorn, until she continued, "But I don't have much of a choice."

"Thank you!" The white Mage said, suddenly lighting up as if from within. "You won't regret this, I promise." He took the chain and lock and clasped Eve's hand. When she snatched it back, Jake simply left, swinging the chain around his finger.

Eve looked down at her hand. Jake had put a pouch of money into it, almost three times as much as he should have.

**…**

_Tch. It's too _cold.

Eve, having had her last jacket torn by that _Grell Sutcliff, _willed herself to stop shivering and continued to pace across the rooftops. She was staking out where she knew the culprit would soon be: Just outside the Hunter manor. Like the Britford home, the estate of the Hunters was widespread, as most nobles' were. It was a far cry from the dingy place Eve was holed up in nowadays, in both appearance and distance.

Having followed Jake home since he had come to the shop, Eve noticed the sky was merging from a cheery blue to an inky black, and the air was becoming more cold and stagnant, like in the winter. She'd realized that Jake must have walked, and a long distance, to see her, and must have been getting cold as well. They had yet to exit the streets, and it was getting chilly.

Oh well, it was none of her business anyways. His welfare stopped being so a long time ago-

_Wait._

_What is that?_

Something cloaked in black was leaning, no, was pressed against the wall of the very building Eve was perched on top of, waiting intently. Jake could see neither of them but Eve could see everything. With no one else in sight, this had to be it.

She waited until the black figure moved towards the other Mage, and _jumped, _landing neatly beside the unknown one and chucking several knives upon doing so. The cloak was torn away, revealing the face underneath.

Jake was surprised, not so much by Eve's appearance, as he'd been expecting something of the sort to happen, but rather, by her _reappearance. _For hiding beneath the mask was none of than the spitting image of Eve, red eye and all.

"_Doppelganger._" Eve hissed, and suddenly Jake knew what she was talking about. Though rare, doppelgangers were extremely sadistic and dangerous: they impersonated people and manipulated them into committing suicide where they then replaced the victims. When they truly 'became' someone, they gain the powers of whoever's life they had taken as well. This particular one was obviously targeting Eve.

It spoke. "So you're _smart _too." The thing purred, smiling almost flirtatiously. "But, pray tell, how did you figure out it wasn't you?"

"Fucking. Metal. Wings." Eve responded, drawing her own pair out herself, before letting them disappear. The doppelganger's smile slipped, the corners turning down.

"Hmm." It said. "So you can already control them, is that it? So that's why he couldn't find you…"

Eve and Jake tensed; they both knew who the monster was talking about. "_He _sent you?" Eve barked. When the doppelganger only snickered, she said, "Answer me! Was it Eros? Did he send you?"

"Yes and no." Was the answer. "I came of my own accord- but he _did _put in a request for you…"

"You would say yes, but he wouldn't completely trust you." Eve said bluntly. "He'd send a servant with you. The only one who could have planted the mask in my home, the one who had access to the wires and the other weapons. Chi! Come out!"

There was silence.

And then a streak of white and yellow. It headed directly for Eve, and she brought up her scythe to stop it-

But then Jake jumped in the way, a halberd in his hands. His Ace. Carrying a sword, Chi was locking weapons with Jake, and crying pitifully. A battle began that Eve was not she she'd want to interrupt,

_You idiot. _

Meanwhile, laughing maniacally, was the doppelganger, which had conjured up a scythe out of nowhere and assaulted Eve. She blocked it with her own scythe, and threw it off. "Eros asked me to give you a message too. I suppose since plan A fell through, I'll have to deliver it now." The imposter leaned in, almost too fast for Eve to see, and whispered, "I am the only one with the right to violate you. So wait for me, won't you?"

With these last words the black scythe was heaved up, and brought down on Eve, who evaded the attack and retaliated with a swing of her own weapon. The doppelganger dodged it, however, and attacked again. This time, the scythe arched and Eve had to hold her Ace with only one arm, the other one, cut.

"Of course, this means _I _can do whatever I bloody want with you before handing you over!" The thing assaulting her giggled with glee. "And I'll do whatever I _bloody shall!_"

"You seem to like blood." Eve said dryly, before being forced to use her only good hand in an attempt to block the other scythe, which was now being pushed up, blade-forward, up to her neck. Her arm trembled with the strain as she struggled to avoid being executed.

Meanwhile, Chi and Jake were dancing to death, almost literally, and both fled around the scene attempting to deal and block blows. Jake had said nothing almost the entire time, having trouble fending off Chi, who was surprisingly strong.

_She must be a hybrid. _Eve realized faintly, in the corner of her mind. _She's not like me at all. _

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Chi sobbed and wailed, while simultaneously attempted to slice through Jake's tired flesh. "I didn't want to- but I- but he- I CAN'T!"

Despite this, Jake stood firm. "Not this time. I swear, Eve, I'm not letting you down this time!" He pulled back his Ace, poised to strike. However, to slow, he saw Chi become as quick as lightning, preparing to run him through.

"No!" Eve bolted towards Jake.

Jake's eyes widened in horror and he looked at Eve, who was now impaled on Chi's sword.

The doppelganger sauntered up to the other three and said lazily, "Well, isn't that a noble act. Saving his life even though yours is the one in danger."

Eve vomited a fountain of blood, but still managed to choke out, "Don't be stupid. If he died, my head would still be on the block regardless." She coughed up red again, and then went down, crumpled to the floor.

"Huh. Not the way we planned to do it but it'll do. Well then Chi, we may as well take her now. And take care of the brat too." The doppelganger sniffed.

But Chi didn't obey, but instead broke down and sobbed. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I can't do it! They were the only who treated my so well, her and her sister… I can't do this to them! They're-"

And then Chi died.

Eve got up to her knees, having taken another knife out of her pocket and slit Chi's throat. "Don't underestimate me." She spat, her words colored with his blood.

The doppelganger looked at Chi and poked her dead body with a boot. "Hmmph. Useless brat. Well, if she's dead, then I don't have much of a chance against the two of you, do I? I'll just have to try again. Ta ta, for now." It sniffed, before turning to walk away.

Jake stood frozen, but Eve got up.

"What did I say?" She said hoarsely. "_Don't underestimate me!_" Her wings burst from her back again, and she felt herself grow warm as flames appeared before her eyes.

"High-altitude phoenix." Jake whispered, but no one heard him.

With a battle cry, Eve ran for the doppelganger, grabbing her scythe again. It jumped back smoothly and smirked, taunting, "Now, you can do better than that, can't you?" and so the fight continued.

Eve flapped her wings and flew up, falling to attack the doppelganger from above. However, she was promptly knocked back down, her leg sliced by the imposter.

This time, she couldn't' get up. Her arm and leg were gone, and she was bleeding to death. Screaming louder, the heat around her intensified, and something circled around her, trying to control her. Eve fought back, bucking and struggling, until the strength left her bleeding limbs. As she faded away, there was the sniggering of the doppelganger, and Jake's cries of concern.

**…**

Eve woke wondering exactly how many times she had come to like this before. A hundred? Maybe a few thousand?

But then the events of the last night hit her like a train and all of that was wiped from her mind.

_Where am I what the Hell happened I don't know what's going on-_

"Calm down, calm down." Jake grasped Eve's arms and brought her out of her stupor. Realizing who was touching her, Eve shook him off but did what he said.

"What happened?" She demanded to know, staring wildly down at her knees.

"You fainted."

"I already bloody know that! What happened _before _that?"

"You burst into flames."

"…So that was real."

"Yes."

Eve fell silent. "Do you know what I am?" She finally said.

"Yes. You're a high-altitude phoenix reAnimus. I found a book: I think you should read it." Jake slid out a thin leather notebook and gingerly placed it on Eve's bed. She took it, and skimmed through the pages.

_There are two varieties of phoenixes, first created when a single species came into contact with humans. Both are birds made of metal and have control over fire, but depending on the category, the characteristics of a phoenix can vary greatly._

_Like the domestication of the wild dog, the first kind is the low-altitude phoenix. These birds kept their original plumage; the usual shades of red, orange, and yellow that comes into most peoples' minds when they think of phoenixes. They are tame, and generally well natured. Their feathers are prized for their beauty and are popular in the black market. When they reach the end of their lives, they will create a nest of their own feathers and burst into flames, where they are reborn as an egg._

_High-altitude phoenixes are birds that live solitary lives alone, and are much rarer and less often seen then their tamer counterparts. They are pitch black, and noted to be very vicious. Specimens that have been sighted have been shown to regenerate body parts and revive their bodies through healing, instead of repeating the well known process of death and birth._

_Though these birds are immortal, not one case of offspring has ever been confirmed. Most likely the measures taken by these birds are an attempt to preserve their obviously fading species, as many phoenixes have been hunted for several reasons._

After reading and cataloging the information in her brain, Eve closed the book.

"Do you hate me?"

"What?" The question came suddenly and caught her off guard.

"I've done horrible things to you… I don't think I could ever reverse-"

Eve cut him off. "You act like you were the one who raped me." She scoffed.

Jake flinched like he was electrocuted but Eve kept on talking. "And just so you know, I don't hate you. You've never done anything particularly bad to me; abandoned me, maybe, but that's nothing to hate you for. Disgust and resentment maybe. But I don't hate you." Eve turned away. "I don't think I ever could. Not any of you."

Jake relaxed and started to say something, the Eve interrupted him. "But I can't go back. Not to that time, when I was ignorant in my innocence. I can't go back to be coddled and taken care of, forever dependant on someone else. Not anymore. Thanks for the offer though. Just one thing."Eve asked as Jake had turned to leave the room, his request refused. "Back… there, when you grabbed me from behind… why didn't you burn?"

Her voice was saturated in curiosity. Jake's mouth twitched in a somewhat amused, and sad, smile. "Dragons are fireproof, too." He said mysteriously as he left the room. As his shadow flitted behind him, it briefly morphed into a shape, a reptilian one with wings, before slipping out the door after its owner.

Relaxing, Eve smiled.

Boy and girl said a silent goodbye to each other that day.

**…**

"Tut tut, my lady, you seem to have gotten your insides butchered again."

"No lady gets herself regularly impaled." Eve growled, biting back snarls of pain. "Now hurry up and finish! Why'd you take out those stitches anyways? They were perfectly fine."

"It'll only be a few more seconds." Kain replied coolly. "And besides, I don't trust anyone else with your wellbeing other than me."

"Whatever."

"Speaking of others…" The healer said as he tightened a line of stitching along the girl's side, earning a hiss. "What exactly happened afterwards? You can't exactly tell everyone that a doppelganger is on the loose and happens to be targeting you."

"Jake told me that we chased the culprits away, which is pretty much the truth." Eve said nonchalantly. "He also gave me credit for doing so and for saving his life."

"Which is also the truth?"

"Of course. I don't tell lies."

"And neither are you usually so quick to accept a gift from him. Exactly what did happen back there?" Kain placed his head on Eve's shoulder, looking at her bi-colored eyes intently.

Eve answered calmly. "He paid back his debt. And repaired my reputation, which caused an uplift in my sales."

"No wonder you've been so relaxed lately." Kain teased. "Any more relaxed and you almost be _smiling, _Heaven forgive-"

"Don't push it." A rough hand in the face quickly ceased his talking.

**…**

Newly patched up, Eve rose up the staircase to Undertaker's lair. Alright, it was a shop, but with its atmosphere, Eve was sure the word 'lair' was more appropriate for the place. "Undertaker, are you in?" She was a little shocked to see him sitting smack in the middle of his shop, sipping tea in a completely normal fashion.

Undertaker giggled and waggled his long fingers in greeting. "Helloooooo, my lady! What, shocked to see me like this?"

"It's scandalous, I know." In a cheerful mood, Eve decided to indulge in a small moment of humor. "Undertaker, found sitting in his own home enjoying tea like a common man. What a horrible crime." The corner of her mouth twitch, earning more laugher from the mortician.

However, the laughing moment ended and Eve became solemn once more. "So I take it your newest customer is ready?"

"Yessss~" Undertaker grinned and swung the coffin adjacent to the one he himself was seated on. Nestled in the blood red fabric was Chi, eyes closed, and lying very still as if sleeping peacefully. Her dress was white and it occurred to Eve that the white Mage dress was very similar to what people wore when they died. "It was messy, but not too difficult. Just one wound on the neck, and I stitched it right up! But who, pray tell, is attending the funeral service? She wasn't known by many people, wasn't she?"

"No. I'll be the only one attending this funeral march. Faye will come too, if she wants. But something tells me she doesn't want to see the dead body of one of her few friends sent off."

"You know, I was wondering why you'd pay to do this in the first place…" Undertaker said creepily, catching Eve's attention. "She was the very culprit you were looking for, was she not? Exactly what made you want to pay me to clean her up?"

"You won't believe me if I said I did it on a whim, will you?" Eve asked dejectedly.

The abrupt and mocking laughter that followed served as a sufficient answer.

"Ugh. Fine, I'll tell you and charge it as a charge of information." Eve said as she plopped down on the same coffin the mortician was perched on.

"I would accept that."

With a sigh, the reaper brushed back her hair with one hand for a brief moment. "Despite what she did, Chi wasn't a bad person." She explained. "If anything, she was in a great deal of pain doing what she was forced to do. And, she made my sister happier, if even just a tiny bit. I think I owe this to her."

"Ohh?" Undertaker leaned in close, too close, as was his usual eccentric way. "Are you sure about that? Because I couldn't help but notice she looks an awwwwfffuullll lot like that dear sister of yours. Surely you didn't do this because she reminded you of her?"

"No, of course not." Eve defended, a little too quickly. "Besides, this is all over and done with anyways. A month later everyone is going to forget this and the living will go on living. But the dead will stay dead." She went on, as she pushed a foot against the coffin door and slammed it shut over the still girl. "No matter what, they will not come back."

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><p><strong>I really really like the ending I wrote here. Kinda gives the sense of ending, if you ask me. Just to let you know, there's only one arc in this story left for be prepared!<strong>


	20. The Last

**This... is a little shorter than I usually have it but oh well. It's not like anyone's even reading this anyways. For now we have the start of the next arc! Also the last one! Be sure to check out of sequel of this because I can guarantee it will be way better. Seriously. I've kinda turned this story into a train wreck.**

* * *

><p>For Eve, the weeks that followed the latest incident was surprisingly… calm.<p>

No one talked to her in the streets.

No one paid her any attention when she went shopping.

No one touched her or glared when she walked by.

It was just her and Faye living their lives. Quite honestly she'd never known it was so relaxing to disappear.

_If this is what the rest of my life is like, _Eve thought to herself walking through the streets one day, _I wouldn't mind at all._

But her tranquil state of mind was instantly shattered as she smacked right into someone else and her eyes shot open to see Kain, with an ever-elegant smile on his face. He seemed to have planned their meeting as his grin stretched as he said, chipper as ever, "Hello! Fancy meeting you here!"

_So much for the rest of my life. _Eve groaned as she asked Kain what he wanted. "Let me guess. Your shirt tore again? Another stalker? Something ridiculously heavy you need moving again?"

A pout braced Kain's lips, earning several squeals from many female onlookers. "Oh? Can't I simply ask my servant-for-life how she's doing without asking for some impossible favor?"

"No, last time I checked, you couldn't." Eve turned away from the nuisance. "And I'm not your servant for life. Not officially, anyways. And I'm getting a dress for Faye, so whatever you want will have to wait until then."

"Didn't you hear what I said? I have no favor to ask of you! But you sister's birthday is coming up soon, isn't it? Tell her happy thirteenth birthday for me, will you?"

"We live next door to each other, you can tell her your-"

"Ahhhhh! Somebody help her, I don't know what's wrong! She just started convulsing all of a sudden!"

Both Eve's and Kain's eyes sharpened as they heard the screaming. Scanning the scene, Eve saw a woman pointing to a body on the ground, which convulsed violently for several seconds before becoming still.

Eve rushed in, followed by Kain. "Move aside." She told everyone in the area. Leaning over the body, the reaper thought to herself, _I know this person… Cynthia whatsherface. Was she here because of Kain? (Probably.)_

The girl in question was slowly coming to, and Eve grabbed her shoulder and shook it gently.

"Hey! Talk to me! What happened?" Eve said.

Miss Pigtails opened her eyes and Eve was shocked to see that the sclera was darkened and the pupils had gone white, as if her eyes were in reverse. For a few brief moments, Cynthia was alert and conscious, mouthing unheard words, but then her hands shot out to loop around the other girl's neck.

She started to squeeze.

"Such impurity…" The strangler cried out, sounding as if she herself was being choked. "Must be extinguished. Such a disgusting girl."

_What?-_

What is this?

What's happening?

Eve's hand shot out on instinct and grabbed the other girl by the head. She brought if down to the ground, hard, and she fell still.

Then the screaming started.

**…**

"What… just happened?"

"A stalker of mine had a seizure, then attempted to strangle you to death."

Eve stared at the motionless girl lying on a cot in Kain's home. She hadn't woke up since being knocked out, but she swore, if the girl woke up and starting to immediately flirt with Kain, Eve was grabbing her head and smacking the daylights out of her all over again.

"I am aware of that." The red/black haired girl bit out. "I meant, in the medical sense. Was she poisoned or anything?"

"I'm not the Undertaker." Kain replied smoothly. "I can't simply sprout information at the price of a laugh."

"So you're admitting he's better than you." Eve drawled, sending an arrow through Kain's self esteem.

"What makes you say that?"

"The combination of 'Not the Undertaker' and 'I can't' implies that you're inferior to him and you're openly acknowledging it."

A very, very, rare frown let itself show on Kain's face for just a second before he leaned down and placed two fingers on Miss Pigtail's neck. "Her pulse is erratic and she was behaving strangely. I'd say it was poison."

"Can it be reversed?"

"We have to see. If she dies, then the poison is lethal. If she wakes up, then her reaction will tell her is the effects are permanent or not."

"And if they are?"

"That's your call."

"No, it's not." Eve growled. "Until someone dies, this is none of my business. Hmm?"

There was a bird tapping against the window. The messenger hawks the nobles used when business was urgent. Eve opened the glass door and took the scroll tied to the bird's legs.

She opened.

_Reaper Evangeline Sonata Brittford,_

It has come to our attention that someone has fallen ill and been taken into your care.

According to reports we have received, the symptoms of your ward directly match Black Bella poisoning, a variation of poison synthesized from the belladonna plant. It appears as a thick liquid similar to blood. Victims who ingest this poison will in a time span from one day to a week exhibit relentless violence and cannot be cured.

This case has also been confirmed to be identical to one witnessed twenty years ago, in which someone poisoned multiple people and was never discovered. We believed that the culprit has remained the same.

Thus, your orders are such. Find and execute whoever is responsible for dispensing the Black Bella.

_Execute anyone who has ingested it._

This case is urgent and must be addressed to immediately.

There was no signature, but Eve knew who had sent her the bird. She sighed and summoned her Ace. The scroll fluttered to the ground.

"What was on there?" Kain pondered.

Eve raised her scythe as Cynthia started to stir, a growl coming out of her throat. Already she could see glints of animosity in her blackened eyes.

"It just became my business." She said tiredly.

**…**

"Undertaker? I have another customer for you."

**…**

"That bitch was _fast._" Eve growled, sporting brand new stitches on her left arm and legs. "Who knew they were _that _violent."

Kain, having read the letter addressed to the reaper, hummed in agreement.

"Anyways, I had Faye send out the notices to those who were at the scene. How did you know to take down the names of those at the scene of the crime?"

"Had the feeling."

"Right. Well you saved a whole lot of time. Witnesses will be ready to question tomorrow. Wait. Did you hear that?"

Kain looked confused. "Hear what exactly?"

"Sounded like the tapping of heels. Came from-" A flash of red bolted past the window in the door and Eve's suspicions were instantly confirmed. Making a split-second decision, she followed, crashing out of the door and into the rain.

Slipping through the streets, Eve flew after the unknown being who was probably, no, _definitely _not a citizen, and had just come from the direction in which Undertaker's shop was, where _the dead body was. _Turning the corner, Eve saw a flash of red hair just past her and reached out and pulled.

Both of the two were sent sliding into the wall of the next building, and Eve found herself pinning the assailant down, hands and knees.

_It's-_

"You." She growled.

"Grell Sutcliff."

**…**

"Where were you two days ago?"

An angry, agitating, and tied up Grell Sutcliff sniffed haughtily. "As if I would tell _you. _What right do you have to do this? I am a _lady, _you know!"

"There's been an incident in which you, an outsider to the village, are the most suspicious, given that I just found you running from where I dropped off _the dead body._ I'll ask you again- where were you two days ago?"

Grell flipped his hair and pouted, averting his gaze from Eve. "Not. Telling."

"Would you tell me, then?" Kain suddenly asked, rising from a chair in the background.

The moment his double-iris eyes lay on Kain, Grell suddenly grinned, showing off his shark teeth. "My, my handsome~ where have you been all my life?"

"For the last five minutes, sitting behind you." Kain replied shrewdly. To Eve's horror, Kain leaned down very close, too close, to Grell, and smiled flirtatiously. His fingers crept to Grell's chest, to where the heavy metal chains tying him to a chair ended. "Now, about two nights ago?"

"Hmm? Oh, I was out reaping a few souls, no one you would know." The redhead's voice suddenly dropped in pitch as he adopted a sultry tone of voice that caused Eve to shudder. "But honestly, I've _love _to spend a few nights with _you._"

Eve face-palmed for many, many, reasons.

"You're a death god." She remembered weakly. "You only reap people's souls."

"Duh…" Grell stuck out a sharp tongue at Eve. "For that matter, why are you still alive? Last time I checked, I had your sorry ass plunged through with my death scythe."

"I got better."

"She has a good doctor."

"And you were reaping Cynthia's soul as well."

"Step aside, girl, I only wanna talk to the hot guy." Grell's attempt to lean forward towards Kain was stopped by Eve's hand, which shot out between the two men. In a much more irritable mood than five minutes ago, she was determined to get her answers.

"Talk to me or those chains will be tightened until you're redder than your hair." Came the quick, almost furious reply.

"Fine, fine, I was. And I have loads of other souls to get to as well. My, my… William's not going to be too happy now that I have myself all, ahem, tied up. I never knew you were such a kink, dear." Grell purred.

Realizing he was referring to her, Eve bristled and scowled, "Go fuck yourself."

"That can be arranged." Grell murmured, hopping in his chair ever closer to Kain.

_That is enough. I am done._

Five seconds later, Grell found himself out in the rain, still weighed down by heavy chains.

"I didn't know you were jealous, darling." Kain grinned, poking her cheek playfully.

"Don't call me that."

"So you don't deny it?"

"Course I do." Came the gruff reply. "If I were afraid of him stealing me from you, why would I bring him to your house?"

"I thought you said it was because Faye was sleeping in yours."

"…"

**TWACK!**

* * *

><p><strong>Short chapter is short .<strong>


	21. Okay, this is ridiculous

**My quality in writing has gone down, and I apologize for that. It's just... I'm so terrible at pacing. **

**Let this end soon please.**

* * *

><p>"Arrgtghg this is impossible!" Eve leaned back in her chair until her head knocked against the wall.<p>

_(ow.)_

"Faye," She leaned over and whispered to her sister. "I don't suppose you've seen any suspicious customers who seem to be smuggling vials of blood I suppose?"

_Closest thing I've got is a sighting of Miss Pigtails five days before the incident. Problem is, the guy who was allegedly seen spiking his drink had his back turned. And fits the description of about a thousand men here._

"Nope." Said her sister, who was examining a knife.

"No creepy people lurking about?"

"Nada."

"Does Christopher's family seem to be experiencing any problems? At all?"

"Nope, sorry." Faye said apologetically. "But sis… don't you think you should ask him yourself? He's right there."

_Oh yeah. _Eve realized. _He's here because he's the only person who would come to my sister's birthday party._

_Which is today…_

"Ah, sorry, sorry." Eve waved her arms in the air apologetically as she backed away. "Celebration first, questions later. Would you like to cut the cake?"

"It was really nice of your mother to bake this cake for us, Chris." Faye chirped to the brown-blonde beside her. "I didn't know she was such a great cook!"

"It's nothing." Christopher grinned nervously and put his hand behind his back. "She made it extra big to apologize for not being able to come here, though. Oh, your sister and I made this, too."

"Hmm?" Faye's eyes widened as Eve brought out a bracelet from behind her back. "It's… beautiful."

It was a black cord woven from metal that glinted and glowed in the light. What caught the eye the most was the two feathers that were delicately connected and hanging from the ring of black itself. One was as pitch black as night, shining as if there were pieces of the stars inside it too. Another was gold and red and orange and all sorts of colors that melded into an array of the sunset.

"They're phoenix feathers." Chris said brightly. "I got the first one from the phoenix we have at the shop, see, and treated the feathers too; made them more durable. But your sister did the hard part. I don't know where she got a high-altitude phoenix feather, but she either fought one herself or got in on the black market- mpphhg!"

"That's enough out of you!" Eve tutted as she covered Christopher's mouth with her hand. "Faye, why don't you cut the cake now?"

The rest of the night was spent eating cake, talking, and enjoying being in other people's company.

"Hey." Eve called after Christopher right before he left, and when Faye had fallen asleep after too much singing. "Christopher."

The brunette turned around very, very slowly. The last time this had happened, Eve had threatened to do horrible, horrible things to him.

"Thanks." Eve said, patting her hand tenderly on his head. "For making my sister happy. Keep is up, okay?"

Christopher stopped and stared. "Al-alright."

**…**

_"My lady, it is time to wake up."_

_Eve grumbled and fidgeted slightly in her well rested sleep, clutching her sheets a little closer to her body. After letting her eyes open just the slightest amount, she eyed Kain open a set of blinds she knew she didn't own and wondered sleepily what the Hell Kain was doing in her home._

_Kain? What are you doing here? Wait… Why can't I talk?_

_Mentally jerking itself awake, Eve's brain made the realization that she wasn't in control of her own body. In fact, all she could do was watch on as her body, being moved by unseen forces, sat up and yawned and talked as if nothing was out of the ordinary at all, like some hellish vision._

_"For breakfast today I have prepared a lightly poached salmon along with mint salad. Toast, eggs, and scones are also available as side dishes. Which is the most befitting to your taste this morning?" Kain was… butlering her? Was that the term? Where did he get that outfit?_

_"The scone." The mouth that belonged to Eve and yet was not hers decided to say, as Kain moved towards her and she sat unmoving on the bed._

_"Very well." Came the response. And then Kain started to dress her like the way she had been back when she lived as a noble, and Eve decided she was trapped in either a bad dream or a horrible, horrible trick. Either way, something very peculiar was happening. "Today, we have scheduled the further investigation of the recent black bella poisoning, and a visit to the Undertaker to identify the time of poisoning for the latest victims, after you kill them of course."_

What?

_"And after that, we'll be inviting Grell to further help us in our investigation."_

What?

**…**

And then Eve woke up wondering what she had just dreamed about.

_Seriously what just happened._

Her attention was very quickly drawn away from her nightmare, however, by a piece of brown, dry, parchment that most definitely wasn't in her room when she had gone to bed the night before.

A brown eye scanned the contents, and then she dropped the paper and ran.

**…**

"Sis? Exactly what-"

"Are we-"

"Doing in_ this_ mangy place?"

A blonde, a burning red, and a black-haired person all sat in a circle around Eve. One was smiling as usual, one was confused, and the last had a very dour look on his face, probably he was still tied up.

"I cannot _believe _how much I actually want get _back to work!_" Grell moaned as he struggled against his chains. Since being kicked out two days before, Eve had found Grell wandering around the streets, still tied up, and apparently useless when so. He seemed to be incredibly uncomfortable, but Eve didn't really care since it made him easier to find.

Kain smirked at the red head, which caused Grell to squirm and simper. "Say, big boy, I don't suppose you could…?" To which the healer replied, "I would… but Eve would have my head."

A blonde head turned to look with a knowing expression at Eve. "To have these people all in one spot… you want us to do something, don't you, sis?"

"You're smart." Eve reached out absentmindedly and patted her head, earning a glowing smile. "And you're right. You here are gathered here because I need your help."

She flicked her wrist and a weathered piece of parchment rolled out from nowhere. "I found this this morning. It's been signed 'Ashworth'."

Kain's chocolate brown eyes narrowed in a lazy sort of way, but he had stopped smiling. "So you think it's him? 'Find them all and perhaps you'll survive. I'm not done playing with you yet.'" He read out the words written in faded ink.

"It's definitely him." Eve's own yellowish eyes were glowing as she went on. "The Black Bella poisonings have been orchestrated by one Eros Ashworth. I have absolutely no idea how he's done this, or how he got into _my house _no less, but what we need to concentrate on now is finding all the vials of poison before they end up killing a good portion of the population. I'm not going to be able to do it alone."

The sound of clapping broke through the silence that followed. "I'm impressed." The black-haired healer said warmly. "So you can freely admit when you need help? Well then, consider me available to do everything in my power to help you."

"Me too!" Faye bounced up from her seat. "I'm always happy to help!"

"But what about you?" Eve put a foot on the chair Grell was attached to. "I have to admit you'd probably be the most useful in a situation like this, but you're probably going to be the hardest to convince…"

"Damn right, you bitch." Grell snapped through shark teeth. "What makes you think I'd lift a finger to help you?"

"I'll take off your chains and then you can actually lift your fingers."

"And what's stopping me from running you through instead?" A cruel grin suddenly graced the redhead's lips. "I don't think I'm through painting you _red._"

A pair of yellow eyes narrowed as Eve glared. "And don't think I've taken measures to prevent that. You'd be surprised how much a person can train in a few months."

"Still no. There's nothing in it for me~ and this is now way to treat a lady!"

"…" Eve stood back to think. "Help me and afterwards you can have Kain for a whole day."

"Erk-" With a slight feeling of satisfaction Eve watched Kain choke on a cup of imaginary tea. "Is that really necessary?"

_So you don't like him all that much._

"Well," she retaliated with a shrug. "You said you'd do anything in your power to help me, didn't you?"

"Ohhhhh." Faye leaned over in her chair, clearly enjoying the moment. "She's got you."

Grell had what seemed to be an eternal struggle, but finally gave in. "I want these chains off _now_ and we have a deal!"

**…**

"They got replaced with _what?_"

"Erm… scissors." Grell smiled sheepishly and snipped his pairs of useless scissors to underline this fact.

"Erk-" Eve's intense fury let itself be known for one second before she waved it away with her hands, saying, "That doesn't matter. So long as they can cut anything, they'll work. Either way, do all of you know what you're set to do?"

"Yup!" Faye grinned and waved her hands up and down. "I'm on lookout!"

"I'll be asking those I know if they've seen anything peculiar." Kain recited.

"And _you,_" The black-haired reaper said to the red-haired one, "Will be on standby until we find out where any of the black bella is hidden. We don't know it the hiding spot will be easy to get to… we might need your assistance."

"Yea?" Grell scoffed. "And how am _I _supposed to know when to come? I'm not staying here for forever, you know!"

"You'll be coming here every day from now on until the problem is resolved."

"What? No fair, no fair! I have a life you know."

"Nether the less, do you want yourself coming here even more often to reap a bunch of souls. You're coming here whether you like it or not."

"Ahhn~ you're so cold, just like my darling Will! Maybe if you weren't another woman, I'd be attracted to you~" With this, Grell draped himself over Eve with a flirtatious look on his face.

Deeply disturbed, Eve threw him off and snarled, "Just keep your advances to Kain, please." Before changing her mind and covering her sister's eyes. "You know what, not even. Not in front of Faye!"

"I am right here! I know what's going on!"

* * *

><p><strong>FYI this is the last arc. I think when I get to the sequel this will get way better OH GOOOOODSSS.<strong>


	22. YES

**This is like the SECOND LAST CHAPTER in the story OH GODS.**

**And then we can get to the kick-ass sequel that I won't shut up about, but haven't even written.**

**AHHHHHHH**

**Reaper-of-Lost-Souls: No, the sequel's not posted yet. (See above: it's not even written TAT) I'll be sure to post when the first chapter is up. It will be awesome, did I mention that?**

**liqiu03: No need to worry; aside from the occasion hiccup, I typically update about once a week. There's going to be a gap between the end of this story and the beginning of the next, given that I need to write it...**

**Spoiler for the next story: Ciel gets a speaking line! Oh lala!**

* * *

><p>Eve set the candle on the ground and started to scale one of the surrounding walls, calling to Kain, "Well then, we better get looking."<p>

"For what?"

"White packet, black powder. I've never actually shown you it, so you wouldn't know."

"Yet another thing you've been keeping from me."

"Oh, shut up and starting wading through this muck for me."

An hour passed with fruitless results. Eve and Kain were left with fatigue, irritancy- but no poison.

"Perhaps we've been looking in the wrong place." The reaper sighed and took the map from Kain. The black bella wasn't found anywhere in the area… so perhaps it was in a nearby section of town? But then-

Kain roughly grabbed Eve and shoved her to the side. "Eve!"

"What-!" Knives were being thrown with deadly precision at the two, coming from some unknown assailant. Kain had a rip on his sleeve.

_That's the first time I've ever seen him injured…_

"What the-!" Eve repeated, but put a halt when she realized that asking questions wasn't going to help them now. "Get behind me!" She ordered the injured healer, summoning her scythe and deflecting the next torrent of knives headed their way. A flash of yellow and white passed by, too fast to see.

_Those are my knives! _Came the realization. _But Chi is dead…_

Kain drew a sword out of his ever-present cane and fought the unseen assailant alongside her. He let go of the map and let it flutter to the ground. The flash was getting closer, ever so often getting near enough to rip Eve's sleeve.

And then Eve reached out with her scythe, stopping the attacker in her tracks for the other two to see.

"What-!" She said for the third time that evening.

"Ah. So close yet so far." Kain murmured, still unable to move and nursing his wound from being smashed into the brick.

_"Faye?"_

Staring with blackened eyes and growling incoherent, guttural threats, Faye swayed slightly, just slightly, at the sound of her name. She looked like a drunk, worn and unkempt. A drunk capable of tearing the two apart, Eve could see, as the blonde shoved Kain as if she were crashing into him, sending him into a wall. He did not get up.

Wait, how did Faye get past her-

_Tch! I was careless! _Eve bore her scythe down on her own sister and Faye blocked it with her hands. Blood dripped down the blade, not fazing the little girl in the slightest. However, watching her sister bleed made Eve stop for the slightest moment, giving Faye an opportunity to strike.

The reaper fell, screaming in her head, _He knew! He went after my sister and now I have to kill her! The bastard! _

With a heartbroken yell, Eve swung the scythe again. And again and again. Faye at first dodged with ease, but with every step backwards, she started to slow until a line of red appeared across her chest. Eve had cut her.

Faye stared down with apathy. Her face betrayed no emotion at the cut, but she took a shaky step forward. Her movements were conflicted- half wanting to run forward and rip everyone to shreds, half trying her hardest to hold back.

Her sister took advantage of Faye's hesitation and swung the scythe horizontally, opting to cut Faye in half. The blond caught it, and the two sisters were in a stalemate, neither one wanting to use full force, but both given no choice but to do so, or die.

_I have to kill my sister. _Acknowledging it made Eve want to cry. And she did, for the first time in years. _I have to kill my sister. The one I love the most._

_She is going to die because of me._

"I'm sorry." Eve whispered, tears flowing down her cheek like a river, blood flowing under her hair. "I'm so, so, sorry…"

Fay looked at her, at her bleeding and weeping eyes, at her pained expression, at her loving sister, who was now forced to kill her.

"…It's okay." She replied, smiling one last smile. It was a wonder she had regained consciousness, and yet here she was, talking almost normally. She repeated it, relinquishing her grip on her Evangeline's scythe and letting her arms fall. "It's okay."

"Close your eyes. Please." Were that last words Eve ever said to her.

Faye closed her eyes.

So did Evangeline.

Raising her weapon once more, a single last tear slid down her check as she dealt a single last blow, killing Faye instantly.

As Eve's breathing slowed the faintest bit and the pounding in her ears ceased its roaring, the pain hit her hard. She looked down. There were tears in her flesh she hadn't noticed yet; across her arms and legs and stabs that protruded straight through her, seeping dark blood through her clothes.

"F-fuck…" The reaper, who was now redder than black, choked the curse out through trembling lips. She promptly collapsed.

Moments passed. Blood flooding the ground and was leached into the spots in which there was earth.

And then Kain got up, brushing himself off as if he'd never been injured. An uncharacteristic smile stretched across his lips as sauntered over to Eve's unmoving, now unconscious, form. "Almost dying already?" He asked, knowing that the girl would not answer. The smirk morphed into a grin as Kain adjusted his gloves on his hands. "But things have just gotten interesting!"

**…**

This must be what dead people feel.

The shock of what you've been through numbs your brain and cloys your senses. A deafening silence presses against your unhearing ears. Black is the only thing you see. Your limbs are still and won't move, even though you haven't ordered them to do so yet.

At first, you think you _are _dead, and then you feel every cut burn white-hot and every stab wrench through your insides a thousand times over. You are not, but everything hurts so much you may as well be.

_Wait, where am I?_

You can't hear anything because there is nothing to hear. You can't see because there is nothing to see. But when you reach with your hands, you _feel, _and what you feel is part soft plush, part hard wood- and completely enclosed around you.

_A coffin._

Three pounds of a fist later, and Eve broke out of the coffin, snapping into an upright sitting position. She looked down, and saw that the blood and wounds were replace with stitches, both in her skin and her clothes.

"Why, I see my lady has woken up, hnn?" The reaper's head snapped to look at the Undertaker, still laughing, still perched on one of his many coffins, still joking about as usual. Her eyes flicked about, and she could see the familiar interior of the mortician's shop around her.

Everything that had just happened seemed to weigh down immensely, the poisoning, the wounds, the dying, and something inside Eve simply broke down.

"Yes." Came the terse reply. "Where is Kain?"

The cocky grin on the man's face faltered, just a bit. "Oh, him?" Undertaker said, half mockingly, half light-heartedly. "I believe he's gone back to his own home, or whatsit. Was already bleeding half to death when he dragged you here, so I offered to fix you up for him, free of charge. I suppose he went to take care of himself first."

_I've never really mentioned Kain in from of him, have I? He doesn't seem to like him particularly… _"I see. Then I should go check on him." Eve swung her legs out of the death box and staggered (her right leg hurt) over to the exit.

"You don't seem quite rushed. Given how… close you are wouldn't you be slightly more concerned about his wellbeing? Both of you looked deader than the corpses I've worked on; now don't go telling me you're not in a tizzy about that." The reaper rotated her head to look that the mortician as he said this. Undertaker seemed to read into the atmosphere (something that surprised Eve; she wasn't aware that he was capable of doing such a thing) and, for once, was not laughing. Instead, his head was cocked to the side like that of a curious child, and he regarded Eve with what she assumed would be a calculating stare if he even had eyes.

She turned her back to him. "No I suppose not. I can't find too much of a reason to be worried. Everything's going to end soon."

"Oh?" Undertaker leaned back as he asked this, reaching into his urn of cookies. "How so?" The smile was back, biting into the words and chomping on the cookie.

"I'm going to kill a vampire."

_But first, I have a funeral to attend._

**…**

Faye's funeral was held, at her parents' insistence, in the family cemetery where a long line of Brittfords were (metaphorically) buried. Given that the entire village was nomadic, the fact that the spreading of the ashes took place behind the Brittford manor was more symbolic than anything.

Standing on the Brittford estate for the first time in almost three years, the reaper was silent and still throughout the whole ceremony. Her eyes stayed trained on the ground, not moving the slightest amount even as Undertaker walked down the small cobbled path with her sister's ashes, performing her funeral rights.

Once again, at her family's demand, Faye's remains were cremated and put in a snowy white urn of ivory and gold. The decision wasn't made until after Victoria and Alexander had seen the body, and Undertaker had told them that no amount of work, even his, could make their dead daughter beautiful again. (He had offered to try accentuating the gory wounds instead, but was promptly turned down.) As such, his role in Faye's parting was reduced from mortician and funeral director to just… funeral director.

But nether the less, he was there, and so where Eve's parents, and they were participating in something she dearly wished they weren't. Faye was _her _sister. It didn't matter if she was _his _daughter-

_Or her daughter-_

_Or his customer-_

Faye had been her sister. The only one she truly had, and Eve had been the same for her.

_For these other people to be here-_

Undertaker was speaking now, flinging some kind of prayer about ashes and ashes flying past her ears.

_It feels wrong._

The scene fell silent, and on cue, Victoria lifted a wand that was clasped between her fingers the whole time. With a wave, the tip of the instrument glowed with magic and a wind picked up blowing south towards the trees. The funeral director opened the urn, and Faye's ashes scattered in the wind, the grey specs fluttering in the air like miniature butterflies.

It was over.

_Good-bye, sister._

"Where are they?" The whisper was as quiet as the wind, but Eve still heard it.

She looked up. Victoria again. She was almost crying now, shaking in her husband's grip. "Where are my little girls?" Her expressions was disturbing, and for the first time Eve could see how the last three years had really affected her parents.

Eve could have said anything: false words of comfort, acidic bites of resilience, _anything, _but she chose not to, and just turned away.

The stifling of sobs and footsteps told her that they had left. Eve, too, turned away to go.

**…**

"I'm going after him you know."

"Who?" Kain looked lazily at his patient with cattish eyes.

"Eros."

"Oh? I thought your plan was to wait until he came to you."

"He is…" Eve's blank eyes narrowed, as if she were about to fall asleep. "But if I take him by surprise, it'll be all the easier to catch him off guard when he shows up expecting to be able to just drag me away. I won't be found so easily."

Kain smiled, and ruffled Eve's striped hair affectionately. "I wouldn't expect any less from you, Evangeline."

_I'm not a scared little girl._

_And he's not the monster that haunts my dreams anymore._

_This story is coming to an end._

* * *

><p><strong>You hear her? The ENNNNNNNDDDD IISSSSSS NEEEEAAAARRR-<strong>


	23. Too Fast

**This is like the SECOND LAST CHAPTER in the story OH GODS.**

**And then we can get to the kick-ass sequel that I won't shut up about, but haven't even written.**

**AHHHHHHH**

**Reaper-of-Lost-Souls: No, the sequel's not posted yet. (See above: it's not even written TAT) I'll be sure to post when the first chapter is up. It will be awesome, did I mention that?**

**liqiu03: No need to worry; aside from the occasion hiccup, I typically update about once a week. There's going to be a gap between the end of this story and the beginning of the next, given that I need to write it...**

**Spoiler for the next story: Ciel gets a speaking line! Oh lala!**

* * *

><p>Eve set the candle on the ground and started to scale one of the surrounding walls, calling to Kain, "Well then, we better get looking."<p>

"For what?"

"White packet, black powder. I've never actually shown you it, so you wouldn't know."

"Yet another thing you've been keeping from me."

"Oh, shut up and starting wading through this muck for me."

An hour passed with fruitless results. Eve and Kain were left with fatigue, irritancy- but no poison.

"Perhaps we've been looking in the wrong place." The reaper sighed and took the map from Kain. The black bella wasn't found anywhere in the area… so perhaps it was in a nearby section of town? But then-

Kain roughly grabbed Eve and shoved her to the side. "Eve!"

"What-!" Knives were being thrown with deadly precision at the two, coming from some unknown assailant. Kain had a rip on his sleeve.

_That's the first time I've ever seen him injured…_

"What the-!" Eve repeated, but put a halt when she realized that asking questions wasn't going to help them now. "Get behind me!" She ordered the injured healer, summoning her scythe and deflecting the next torrent of knives headed their way. A flash of yellow and white passed by, too fast to see.

_Those are my knives! _Came the realization. _But Chi is dead…_

Kain drew a sword out of his ever-present cane and fought the unseen assailant alongside her. He let go of the map and let it flutter to the ground. The flash was getting closer, ever so often getting near enough to rip Eve's sleeve.

And then Eve reached out with her scythe, stopping the attacker in her tracks for the other two to see.

"What-!" She said for the third time that evening.

"Ah. So close yet so far." Kain murmured, still unable to move and nursing his wound from being smashed into the brick.

_"Faye?"_

Staring with blackened eyes and growling incoherent, guttural threats, Faye swayed slightly, just slightly, at the sound of her name. She looked like a drunk, worn and unkempt. A drunk capable of tearing the two apart, Eve could see, as the blonde shoved Kain as if she were crashing into him, sending him into a wall. He did not get up.

Wait, how did Faye get past her-

_Tch! I was careless! _Eve bore her scythe down on her own sister and Faye blocked it with her hands. Blood dripped down the blade, not fazing the little girl in the slightest. However, watching her sister bleed made Eve stop for the slightest moment, giving Faye an opportunity to strike.

The reaper fell, screaming in her head, _He knew! He went after my sister and now I have to kill her! The bastard! _

With a heartbroken yell, Eve swung the scythe again. And again and again. Faye at first dodged with ease, but with every step backwards, she started to slow until a line of red appeared across her chest. Eve had cut her.

Faye stared down with apathy. Her face betrayed no emotion at the cut, but she took a shaky step forward. Her movements were conflicted- half wanting to run forward and rip everyone to shreds, half trying her hardest to hold back.

Her sister took advantage of Faye's hesitation and swung the scythe horizontally, opting to cut Faye in half. The blond caught it, and the two sisters were in a stalemate, neither one wanting to use full force, but both given no choice but to do so, or die.

_I have to kill my sister. _Acknowledging it made Eve want to cry. And she did, for the first time in years. _I have to kill my sister. The one I love the most._

_She is going to die because of me._

"I'm sorry." Eve whispered, tears flowing down her cheek like a river, blood flowing under her hair. "I'm so, so, sorry…"

Fay looked at her, at her bleeding and weeping eyes, at her pained expression, at her loving sister, who was now forced to kill her.

"…It's okay." She replied, smiling one last smile. It was a wonder she had regained consciousness, and yet here she was, talking almost normally. She repeated it, relinquishing her grip on her Evangeline's scythe and letting her arms fall. "It's okay."

"Close your eyes. Please." Were that last words Eve ever said to her.

Faye closed her eyes.

So did Evangeline.

Raising her weapon once more, a single last tear slid down her check as she dealt a single last blow, killing Faye instantly.

As Eve's breathing slowed the faintest bit and the pounding in her ears ceased its roaring, the pain hit her hard. She looked down. There were tears in her flesh she hadn't noticed yet; across her arms and legs and stabs that protruded straight through her, seeping dark blood through her clothes.

"F-fuck…" The reaper, who was now redder than black, choked the curse out through trembling lips. She promptly collapsed.

Moments passed. Blood flooding the ground and was leached into the spots in which there was earth.

And then Kain got up, brushing himself off as if he'd never been injured. An uncharacteristic smile stretched across his lips as sauntered over to Eve's unmoving, now unconscious, form. "Almost dying already?" He asked, knowing that the girl would not answer. The smirk morphed into a grin as Kain adjusted his gloves on his hands. "But things have just gotten interesting!"

**…**

This must be what dead people feel.

The shock of what you've been through numbs your brain and cloys your senses. A deafening silence presses against your unhearing ears. Black is the only thing you see. Your limbs are still and won't move, even though you haven't ordered them to do so yet.

At first, you think you _are _dead, and then you feel every cut burn white-hot and every stab wrench through your insides a thousand times over. You are not, but everything hurts so much you may as well be.

_Wait, where am I?_

You can't hear anything because there is nothing to hear. You can't see because there is nothing to see. But when you reach with your hands, you _feel, _and what you feel is part soft plush, part hard wood- and completely enclosed around you.

_A coffin._

Three pounds of a fist later, and Eve broke out of the coffin, snapping into an upright sitting position. She looked down, and saw that the blood and wounds were replace with stitches, both in her skin and her clothes.

"Why, I see my lady has woken up, hnn?" The reaper's head snapped to look at the Undertaker, still laughing, still perched on one of his many coffins, still joking about as usual. Her eyes flicked about, and she could see the familiar interior of the mortician's shop around her.

Everything that had just happened seemed to weigh down immensely, the poisoning, the wounds, the dying, and something inside Eve simply broke down.

"Yes." Came the terse reply. "Where is Kain?"

The cocky grin on the man's face faltered, just a bit. "Oh, him?" Undertaker said, half mockingly, half light-heartedly. "I believe he's gone back to his own home, or whatsit. Was already bleeding half to death when he dragged you here, so I offered to fix you up for him, free of charge. I suppose he went to take care of himself first."

_I've never really mentioned Kain in from of him, have I? He doesn't seem to like him particularly… _"I see. Then I should go check on him." Eve swung her legs out of the death box and staggered (her right leg hurt) over to the exit.

"You don't seem quite rushed. Given how… close you are wouldn't you be slightly more concerned about his wellbeing? Both of you looked deader than the corpses I've worked on; now don't go telling me you're not in a tizzy about that." The reaper rotated her head to look that the mortician as he said this. Undertaker seemed to read into the atmosphere (something that surprised Eve; she wasn't aware that he was capable of doing such a thing) and, for once, was not laughing. Instead, his head was cocked to the side like that of a curious child, and he regarded Eve with what she assumed would be a calculating stare if he even had eyes.

She turned her back to him. "No I suppose not. I can't find too much of a reason to be worried. Everything's going to end soon."

"Oh?" Undertaker leaned back as he asked this, reaching into his urn of cookies. "How so?" The smile was back, biting into the words and chomping on the cookie.

"I'm going to kill a vampire."

_But first, I have a funeral to attend._

**…**

Faye's funeral was held, at her parents' insistence, in the family cemetery where a long line of Brittfords were (metaphorically) buried. Given that the entire village was nomadic, the fact that the spreading of the ashes took place behind the Brittford manor was more symbolic than anything.

Standing on the Brittford estate for the first time in almost three years, the reaper was silent and still throughout the whole ceremony. Her eyes stayed trained on the ground, not moving the slightest amount even as Undertaker walked down the small cobbled path with her sister's ashes, performing her funeral rights.

Once again, at her family's demand, Faye's remains were cremated and put in a snowy white urn of ivory and gold. The decision wasn't made until after Victoria and Alexander had seen the body, and Undertaker had told them that no amount of work, even his, could make their dead daughter beautiful again. (He had offered to try accentuating the gory wounds instead, but was promptly turned down.) As such, his role in Faye's parting was reduced from mortician and funeral director to just… funeral director.

But nether the less, he was there, and so where Eve's parents, and they were participating in something she dearly wished they weren't. Faye was _her _sister. It didn't matter if she was _his _daughter-

_Or her daughter-_

_Or his customer-_

Faye had been her sister. The only one she truly had, and Eve had been the same for her.

_For these other people to be here-_

Undertaker was speaking now, flinging some kind of prayer about ashes and ashes flying past her ears.

_It feels wrong._

The scene fell silent, and on cue, Victoria lifted a wand that was clasped between her fingers the whole time. With a wave, the tip of the instrument glowed with magic and a wind picked up blowing south towards the trees. The funeral director opened the urn, and Faye's ashes scattered in the wind, the grey specs fluttering in the air like miniature butterflies.

It was over.

_Good-bye, sister._

"Where are they?" The whisper was as quiet as the wind, but Eve still heard it.

She looked up. Victoria again. She was almost crying now, shaking in her husband's grip. "Where are my little girls?" Her expressions was disturbing, and for the first time Eve could see how the last three years had really affected her parents.

Eve could have said anything: false words of comfort, acidic bites of resilience, _anything, _but she chose not to, and just turned away.

The stifling of sobs and footsteps told her that they had left. Eve, too, turned away to go.

**…**

"I'm going after him you know."

"Who?" Kain looked lazily at his patient with cattish eyes.

"Eros."

"Oh? I thought your plan was to wait until he came to you."

"Well, I'm turning nineteen anyways, aren't I?" Eve's blank eyes narrowed, as if she were about to fall asleep. "That's how long I've got, to kill him before he gets me. But if I take him by surprise, it'll be all the easier to catch him off guard when he shows up expecting to be able to easily defeat me. "

Kain smiled, and ruffled Eve's striped hair affectionately. "I wouldn't expect any less from you, Evangeline."

_I'm not a scared little girl._

_And he's not the monster that haunts my dreams anymore._

_This story is coming to an end._

* * *

><p><strong>You hear her? The ENNNNNNNDDDD IISSSSSS NEEEEAAAARRR-<strong>


	24. Nothing Left

**FFFF- MY GOD I'M SO SORRY. I vow to update once a week and what happens? I don't post anything for a week. But hopefully to make up for it, I've done written the LONGEST freaking piece of fiction I've ever written, EVER. I'm talking five thousand and a half words.**

**But theeeeeeeen, you're gonna have to start hating me again. Why?**

**Cuz this is the last chapter in the story. It's done.**

**And I'm probably gonna disappear again for like two months or something.**

**But wait! The sequel is coming soon and it will be so much better. It's just going to take a while to write. So. Yeah.**

**liqiu03: There's something seriously suspicious with Kain, which you will read here.**

* * *

><p><em>Several months later<em>

A bird, flying freely through the air, squawked with indignantly as a certain grim reaper was flung into its path.

Eve, paying the bird no mind, spread her own wings and concentrated on the vision she saw below. Flying in a speeding streak towards the ground, her arm whipped up too fast for human eyes to see, and four black spikes were flung down..

One reaper landed on the ground, and four black knives were shadow-stitched into the edge of Prim's dress. Pulling on four invisible wires, Eve yanked the four knives out and back into her hand. "Again." She demanded.

"Oi, Eve." Prim rolled her eyes. "You've beaten me for like the hundredth time in a row. Don't you think it's time to take a break or something?"

"No. Now again."

"Your wish is my command." Prim said in response, a little sarcastically as she then charged headlong towards the other girl.

She then got slapped in the face with a pair of wings.

"Carefuuullll!" Proper ran to catch Prim only to get slapped with a flailing hand. (Wimp.) "Look, Prim's right. For the last few months you've been doing this non-stop. It's a little…"

"Obsessive." Eve finished, dusting herself off and turning away. "I know. Well, if you're tired out, then I'll head on home." She looked back one last time, bowing before going for good. "Thank you for your help."

"Were you like this all the time or just when we moved here?" Prim called over with a snort. Nether the less, she gave a friendly wave good-bye.

"Ah? The second." The reaper answered. "My priorities have changed."

**…**

"Have your wounds healed?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Kain chuckled.

"That's not amusing in the slightest. If I'm going to go and kill the Prince of all Vampires, I have to have my medic beside me right?"

"I suppose that would be correct, yes."

"Let me try bandaging this then."

"What 'this'? I don't know what you speak- oof." The healer tried to put off the conversation, only to be jabbed in the stomach by two stiff fingers. Eve had poked a cut near his middle, and he certainly got the point.

She coughed out a scoff as she sat up. "You got scratched, didn't you? You take care of me all the time; why don't I repair the favor?"

Though he raised his eyebrow skeptically, Kain decided to comply to the reaper's wishes and leaned back. "Since when did you become interested in this sort of business?"

"Well, I need to keep learning, don't I?" Eve motioned for Kain to lay on the same cot she had been sitting on moments ago. "I may as well learn how to take care of myself… besides, if you're worried I'll accidentally kill you, you should know I've actually been watching you." Moving to straddle Kain at the waist, she carefully opened his coat and looked at the bandage. "You got hurt worse than I thought… Was I really that careless?"

Kain grunted softly as the bandages were wrapped open and ran his fingers through his shaggy black hair. "I can't say I blame you… You're used to fighting alone, aren't you?"

"Yes." Eve responded slowly and paused in re-wrapping the healer's middle. Clenching her fists, she suddenly posed a question.

"Kain?"

"Yes?"

She looked down so her eyes were hidden. "When this is over… what's going to happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to kill Eros." The whispered words sounded foreign in her mouth, despite the countless times she had screamed them in her mind. "But after that… what happens?"

She went on as Kain eyed her. "If I die, I die. But if I live, what then? Our deal is over either way, and we'll have no reason to know each other anymore. Faye is gone, so what's left for me?"

Shaking, Eve realized she was close, very close, to crying. "I'll have nothing left."

To her surprise, a gentle smile stretched across Kain's face, completely different from the flirtatious flirts he'd usually give. "I assure you, you won't. The deal was that you wouldn't be obliged to come here for business anymore. Whoever said you'd have to stop completely?" He propped himself up on his elbows, fighting a wince. "I'll stay with you, if you like, however long you want."

"You're willing to stay with me?" Two golden eyes flicked upwards to meet two dark ones. Eve jerked a little as a hand was raised gently to her cheek, but she didn't move away.

"Yes."

Eve let out a shuddering breath and leaned down further.

**…**

There was a knock on the door.

_Who could that be? _Eve couldn't help but wonder. She hadn't had a visitor in forever. Or… ever, really.

So imagine her surprise when she opened the door to see Kain sauntering in like he owned the place.

"Hello." He said cheerily.

Eve stared. "…what are you doing here?"

Kain raised a cake, beautifully decorated just like the ones she used to eat like a noble. "I thought I'd come by to celebrate." Setting the cake down on the counter, Eve could see the fancy words curling across the surface.

"Happy Birthday."

"… It's not my birthday yet. You of all people should know that."

With an overconfident wave of his hands, Kain simply waved off the sculpture. "Then we'll celebrate it early. And I've heard from Prim you've taken control of your wings, did you not?"

"I suppose."

"So that's another reason to celebrate then. Why don't you let me see?"

Eve made a face. "Doing it ruins my clothes."

In return, the healer couldn't help but smirk. "Then take them off."

"No! Are you daft?"

One cuff on the head later and Kain was rubbing his head regretfully. "Well," He said indignantly, "it's not like I've haven't seen everything yet, have I?"

"Shut up and eat your cake." The reaper snarled, drawing two knives out of her sleeves and slashing them across the table. The confection split in half, forming a seam between the two words. This earned a whistle from Kain, who had been impressed with her improvement.

While they ate, Kain felt impelled to ask, "So may I ask what's wrong?"

Eve, nearly done her half of the cake, stopped with her fork in mid-air. Cocking her head, she inquired, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I thought you'd finally start warming up to me, and yet tonight rolls around and you barely given your future fiancé a smile."

"Since when did I agree to marry you… Honestly, don't make stuff up like that." But with a sigh, Eve decided to indulge the man. "Kain, it's the eve of my birthday. There's no possible way I can be happy."

"Ah, but you can try." The healer's tone softened at this, and he once more reached to give the girl a reassuring pat on the head. "Even if it's for one night, especially if it's your last one, shouldn't you try to be happy?"

"No, that's stupid."

"Heh. As blunt as always."

Ignoring this, Eve put down the fork. "And after? After this night is over?"

"And after, I will stay with you, like I promised."

"If I survive."

"If you survive."

"Because I doubt you would stay by my corpse should I simply die and be buried."

"Most likely, no."

"And you say I am the blunt one."

They stayed like this for a while, simply talking and enjoying one another's company. Eve was sullen, knowing full well what was going to happen to her, and Kain did his best to cheer her up. Though his attempts bore no fruit, the reaper accepted his help, albeit indifferently. Both knew that they could very well die that night, but never explicitly stated the fact; it was better to leave some things unsaid.

At last the two finished, the plates emptied, the cake long forgotten. The atmosphere was very heavy, Eve knew what time it was. "I'm think I'm going to go outside for a bit." She said quietly, mechanically. "Clear my head. Will you wait for me?"

Kain smiled. "Of course."

And so she got up, stretching her arms like a cat would, before putting her hand on the cool metal of the doorknob and heading out.

Eve walked a bit. She didn't go anywhere in particular, really, but simply milled about to waste time. There was this weight, a thick heavy force, sitting on her shoulders, and she couldn't shake it off for the life of her.

_Stop being melodramatic. _She commanded herself. _Pull yourself together. I've prepared for this. I know he's coming. And I know I can kill him. I'm positive._

_… then why do I feel like something horrible is going to happen?_

The clock struck twelve and the night darkened a shade more. Eve halted in her tracks, hearing steps clacking against the stone and knowing full well who stood there. This story did not start with the sound of boots clicking against the streets, but it would certainly end with it.

The girl with the black and red hair turned around, gazing at the one standing before her. His hair was blood red, tied at the nape of his neck. His eyes, the exact same shade, were slit with cat pupils that looked at her possessively, the kind of way a demon would look at a soul. Even after all his time, he still looked at Eve as if he were staring right through her, as if he _owned _her.

She hated that stare.

He was the exact same as when Eve had first met him, had been stolen by him, had been terrified him.

"You." She said.

Eros' mouth split into a grin, his fangs catching the light of the full moon. "Me."

_Hello Eros. _Eve almost felt compelled to say, but didn't because saying so would do her no good.

"How did you find me?" She didn't ask the question out of actual curiosity, but more for the purpose of distracting the vampire as he focused on her hungrily. Taking a cautious step back, the reaper was frustrated to find that she had backed into a wall.

Eros took a deliberate step forward, his eyes glinting with malice. "It took a while. A very long time, in fact; there were several things that got into my way. A nomadic village, various hiccups, not to mention your scent changed the second time you ran away- can you imagine? A human changing scents? But eventually, I struck a deal with that doppelganger and she had the courtesy to tell me where you were."

"And now you're here."

"Yes." The vampire kept walking, faster now, increasing his pace as he got closer and closer. As he came within arms' reach, he stopped, leering down on her. "And _now _I'm taking you with me, as promised."

Even under the stare, Eve stood her ground. She was no longer a coward, or a weakling. "And if I refuse?" Her tone was strong, with conviction.

And yet even as she refused him outright, no motion of anger or rejection twisted the vampire's perfect face. If anything, his cheshire widened with a cruel happiness. _He's been expecting this. _Eve deduced. _He knows I'm going to put up a fight. Is that why he still waited until I turned eighteen, even though he found out where I was?_

A clawed hand reached for Eve's throat, and shoved her harshly against the wall. She made no noise, even as her head crashed into the brick and Eros leaned in, licking his lips. "Then I'll take you by force." He answered in a seductive purr.

_He plans to _play _with me._

_Bastard._

Retaliating quickly, Eve slipped from the grasp like water, jumping back to distance herself from the vampire. While he smirked and elongated his claws, she tensed her legs into a half crouch and summoned her scythe.

The fight was on.

Eros made the first move, using vampirac speed to lunge directly at Eve. The reaper stepped to the side and swung her scythe towards the spot she'd been standing. The blade arced in a flash, but caught no flesh; her opponent had ducked and skidded to a halt to face her.

"I hope you realize that honor being given to you." Eros' red hair shone in the moonlight and Eve was suddenly reminded of that other redhead she had fought. "I've spent three years-"

He lunged. She dodged.

"Searching for you-"

She swiped. He ducked.

"Practically _obsessing _over you-"

He grabbed the scythe itself this time. She jumped back too slow, and had her weapon knocked out of her hands.

"For three years." The reaper had interrupted him. "And you act as if I've nothing but cower in that time." Reaching into her pockets, Eve withdrew the thin wires she'd grown so adept to using and two lines of fire appeared as they spread from her hands. "If you want an easy target, you'll be disappointed."

Despite how the flaming strings seemed to appear out of nowhere, Eros was unfazed by this. Though he drew out a sword from a sheath, realizing he'd need it against a wide-range weapon, his arrogant expression remained untouched. "It doesn't matter what you do." He let out a maniac laugh, running straight after Eve as she stepped back, while flitting just out of reach of the fire. "Because whatever it was, you're still- human!"

He was getting closer now, too close, honing in on his prey.

"And a human cannot hope to stand against a vampire prince."

Eve, much to her chagrin was backed against a wall again, her mouth set in a thin line as she concentrated on trying to ensnare the vampire before her. She failed continuously and Eros pushed on, disappearing and materializing right in front of Eve, whispering right into her ear, preparing to bite the pale skin of her neck.

"Do you hear me? You're- human! Human!"

And his teeth dug down, down into the flesh, ripping it apart as he feasted.

Eve's first reaction was the fear, as past memories of similar incidents bubbled under the surface of her mind, threatening to boil over. But then she calmed, and all the while stayed still, because she knew what was going to happen.

Because she had planned this to happen from the start.

"No." The girl said, coldly, almost indifferently. She seemed to pay no mind to the gaping hole that had formed between her neck and shoulder, pouring blood. "I'm not."

Eros had recoiled, spitting furiously. She had tasted her blood before, and knew that in the last three years, it had turned far more metallic and acidic than normal. "What-"

"I'm not human." She repeated, and flicked her wrist. The wires, now extinguished, and now invisible, wrapped themselves around one of the vampire's forearm. "Not anymore." Eve pulled, and with brute force ripped the limb from Eros' body. It, and the sword being held in it, dropped to the ground with a dull thud and sharp clatter.

He screamed an honest scream. Briefly, a thought flicked in Eve's mind whether or not the vampire had ever been injured this badly. Probably not, judging by the screams.

"Bitch." Eros clutched his bloody stump. He scooped up his blade with his other hand and made another move.

However, Eve was ready this time, and she wasn't taking any risks. Jumping backwards, she crouched down for the shortest moment to grab her scythe, now right beside her. Tensing her muscles, she leaped upwards. Two black wings came into being, and Eros watched, his smirk gone, is eyes widened, as the reaper landed on the roof of a building but rebounded. Her scythe was raised above her head, poised for a fatal blow.

She missed, but only because Eros managed to flee at the last second. And indeed, he kept fleeing, for the tables had turned; the hunter had become the hunted.

And the hunted?

She had turned into a monster.

Eros came to the horrifying realization that Eve was right: she was no longer human, but had become something else. Not an angel, not a demon, not vampire, but something beyond his imagination.

She was stronger than him now.

And it was fucking scary.

Saying nothing, Eve pursued her now-prey, who was now fighting her attacks off with full force. Now knowing he had no chance of taking her- where ever he was going to kidnap her, Eros was now determined to just trying an kill the reaper and be done with it. Pulling out all the stops, he was lashing out viciously, mercilessly- and messily.

Three years ago, Eve would have been content with this. Stand up for herself, chase off the big bad vampire, and good for her, she gets her happy ending. However, three years ago she had yet to conclude exactly how dangerous this was. This entire mess.

Everyone she had known lived in fear of this vampire. She'd seen villages, entire _villages, _wiped out with his brand burning in the ruins. And three years ago, her sister had been alive.

It wasn't enough for Eve anymore to just defend for herself anymore. She had vengeance in mind, not just for her, but for who knows how many people had suffered at his hands.

This man, no, this monster, had to die. But how?

_This isn't working. _Eve came to the conclusion as the battle wore on, and both sides seemed not to land a single hit. She was scratching him, yes, but Eros was still a vampire, a high ranking one at that, and seemed to evade her, not with any ease, judging by his increasingly panicking expression, but well enough that he would soon escape at this rate. _I'll have to try something else._

Pulling her hands back, her scythe was ready for another blow. However, Eve was stopped short by Eros suddenly closing in on her, finding the slightest opening in her movements. That grin was back, that insufferable confidence of someone who had only been acting- or at least had been pretending to. Ero's sword ripped through the reaper, sliding in-between two of her ribs and making her cough violently. "It's my victory!"

But it wasn't. Not by a long shot. Because it's was Eve's turn to bite, and like Eros, her teeth ripped through the flesh with no mercy.

It wasn't just that however. She aimed for the throat, ripping out the windpipe that, while gave no life-giving air to a vampire, still weakened the neck when it was removed. Eve spit it out, the bloodied muscle falling to the ground with a sick splat.

The ironic bite left the vampire in shock, his mouth gaping open and mouthing something that appeared to be pleas for his life. Heard or not, his words fell on deaf ears as Eve continued to tear into him, throwing aside her single scythe, and taking out knives from her sleeves and digging them into the neck again, twisting the black in an attempt to separate the vampire's head from his body. She almost succeeded, but Eros was clawing again, not like a predator playing with a victim, but like the victim that was desperately defending itself. Not giving him a chance to retaliate, Eve knock Eros down and pinned him there, spearing him to the ground through his remaining arm and shoulder. Straddling the now nearly defeated and almost screaming vampire, she summoned her scythe again and brought it down on Eros' head.

The blade went through the head, but the vampire continued to struggle, making screaming motions even though no sound came out. Trying something else, the reaper drew her scythe across his chest, tearing through clothes and cold, cold skin. She wallowed through the blood and kept burrowing in, ignoring the frantic thrashing of the monster beneath her. Eve stuck her hand in, and her fingers wrapped around something black and unbeating.

A vampire's heart.

And it was burning to a crisp now in the vampire's chest, as his face contorted to one of unbelievable pain and his body stiffened and convulsed. It was a sick sight, and Eve almost wanted to gag, but she soldered on and concentrated on the flame in her hand, and the ashes collecting in her palm.

Eventually, at last, the heart burned away and the vampire was still. Getting up from the dead body, Eve stood and glared at it, watching carefully for any signs of movement as the corpse continued to blaze under the heat of the fire. It burned quickly, like paper that had been licked by a lit match.

It was over, wasn't it?

_He's dead._

_He's finally dead. _Eve confirmed the ashes continued to scatter. It was done, he was gone, and every chain tying her to the strife of her last three years had been severed.

Then why was someone clapping?

Kain applauded the private show he had witnessed, the moonlight highlighting his flawless features the same way they had Eros'. Eve gaped, thoroughly confused as the healer stepped on the vampire ashes before him as he stopped walking to face the reaper.

"...Kain?" Though when she had left him, Eve had guessed Kain may have figured out what would have happened, but the cruel smile on his face, and the way he now held himself, like royalty, was deeply unsettling, as if something terrible had happened to him. Or her.

At first, he said nothing, but as he continued to loom over her with that strange, malicious presence, his smirk split while and he exclaimed, "Congratulations, Evangeline. I always knew my brother wouldn't have stood a chance against you."

If Eve could have grown any colder, she would have turned to ice. "What are you talking about?" Her words were whispered and hurried, and so, so scared, and yet Kain just stood there and grinned.

"Well, due to our promise earlier, it was only a matter of time before I told you." Was that smile growing fangs, or was it imagination? "But yes, Eros Ashworth was my brother."

A gentle hand touched the white line of Eve's jaw, and she found herself unable to do anything but tremble. "How?" Was all she could say. "Your eyes..." Her question was well founded; the dark black of Kain's irises was nowhere near the vivid red all vampires had...

"It's strange, how vampires work." His gloved fingers were tracing the outline of her face, in the same clinical manner he did when tending to her injuries. Kain gave a chuckle, like he had thought of something nostalgic. "When we refrain from blood, our bodies revert to a weakened human state. When you're the second born of any family regardless, you have no right to hold the title as head. But drink blood and our abilities are heightened. Kill everyone in your way, and the family title is yours."

"What?" Eve was on the verge of tears. This couldn't be, how could she not have seen this happening? "How did I get pulled into this? You were trying to kill Eros- your brother- for how long?"

"Oh, a long, long, time." Came the answer. "It's incredibly hard to kill the head of the Ashworths. There are certain... protections placed on him or her due to several old laws and spells. But then I came across you- one who had been naturally born with the power of the very creature that has the potential of immortality, like us. What better way to combat a monster than with another monster?"

"That can't be. You were a child when we first met. I was a child."

"And so I appeared to you."

"You used me from the very beginning."

"We were both using each other; we had the same goal."

"You tricked me."

"I did."

"Tell me what happened. How did you do this?" She didn't move, didn't make a single assault against Kain. Seemingly thinking he had nothing to fear, the vampire, for he was one, decided to indulge Eve with answers.

"I admit that you were much more influenced in our deal than I was. I had to convince you to agree to help me, after all. So I pulled some strings. Made sure the men who kidnapped you were at the right place at the right time…"

"No."

"Implanted memories to let you welcome me into your life more readily."

"No…"

"And even when you were losing your focus, too concentrated on that sister of yours, I even removed your distractions for you."

"No. Kain, tell me you didn't-"

"Kill your sister? I did."

The silent mixture of fear and fury that emanated from Eve did nothing to faze Kain, who had now grown quite cocky, if he wasn't that before. When Eve fell silent, Kain continued. "It's not like you should be angry with me. You got what you wanted, didn't you? The one who had caused you all this pain is gone. And like I said, I'll stay with you afterwards. Forever. You can have whatever you like; as the new vampire prince, there is nothing I cannot do."

As the horrors of his words set in, the reaper realized she had fallen into yet another trap, only one more cleverly set this time. She was still branded, still cursed. "When he died, his claim on you was transferred to me. You're my property now."

And then the hand that was so carefully caressing her jaw held fast with an iron grip, and Kain closed in too fast for the shocked and disturbed Eve to react. His lips fastened on hers, and she was suddenly aware of the foul blood in her mouth as Kain kept holding her prisoner, kissing her fiercely and sweeping his tongue through her mouth and _what the fuck was he doing-_

When she wrenched away, he was licking his lips free of blood. Eros' blood. As soon as the hateful red substance glided down his throat, an immense change started to come over Kain as the fangs of his grin sharpened, for real this time, and his eyes changed color from that constant dark brown to a terrifying blood red. This was what Kain had been after for three long years, no, even long than that. He was turning in his true form, the prince of vampires.

Or, he would have been, had Eve not summoned her scythe right there and then and stabbed his point blank in the chest.

Kain's vampire eyes widened as the slow awareness came over him with the same alarm came over him that Eve had felt when she pieced together the reality that he had plotted the death of her sister. He was going to die, but not before turning to Eve with genuine hurt in his eyes.

"You killed me. Me, who could have given you anything?" He asked.

"I killed you." Eve half agreed. "You, who has taken away from me everything."

She twisted the blade as it started to burn, already Kain's chest was smoking with hardly seen fumes in the light. "And once something is truly lost, you can never get it back again. My sister. My trust. And even if I did forgive you, you would have simply taken up the mantle of the Ashworths, would you? Terrorizing humans and causing pain in the exact same manner Eros did. And you expect me to simply allow you to do this? I still have my duty as this place's Grim Reaper, and so you shall be executed. The law demands it.I have every reason to kill you."

Finally outsmarted, Kain tried to laugh but coughed instead. "I see." He wheezed. "I-"

And then he died, crumbling to dust before finishing his last words.

Eve collapsed, hitting the ground hard. It came as a shock to her; she hadn't felt anything being doing so. Looking down, she tried to see what was wrong, and realized- her curse was broken. Nothing hurt anymore. Nothing hurt! Or, at least, she couldn't feel her injuries as well. But this didn't mean the reaper wasn't hurt, and Eve could see that by looking down.

Her shoulder still missing a chunk, blood poured down from the hole and soaked her clothes. Her wings had disappeared subconsciously, and now there were two stinging wounds on her back where they used to be. Usually by now, Kain wouldn't have helped her… but he was dead.

_I'm all alone. _Eve came to terms with her condition. _And I'm going to die._

Somehow, gazing up by the sky and soaking up the scare light of the moon, Eve wasn't the slightest bit scared with what was obviously going to happen to her. She was going to die; so what?

_I completed my goal, got my revenge. Kain betrayed me and he's gone too. I can't go back, not anymore._

I've got nothing left to do…

And yet, as she faded away, another thought penetrated her mind, as if put there by someone else.

_Except move on._

These proclamations made the reaper stir once more, making her raise her head with her last ounce of strength, and _wait, what's that?_

Held out in front of her was a single hand, tipped with long black fingernails, offering help. Absolutely nothing made Eve want to reach out, but her mind and her body started to act on their own, and she seemed to lose control.

_There's still a chance to live, no matter how slim. _She thought without meaning to. _Take it._

Eve reached out, and as her heart ran through its last beats, she clasped the black clawed hand in hers just as her vision blotted out, and she knew nothing more.

* * *

><p><strong>The next story will be called "Demons, Desserts, and Death Gods, Oh My" and will follow the Kuroshitsuji manga storyline. <strong>


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